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[Hasney]

I can absolutely respect that. He achieved his dream, he has a wife and a baby, got the money, too. No need to risk anything anymore and rather be with his child when it grows up.

Yeah, mad respect. Think he's driven enough to the point where he'd give it another shot this year if Hamilton did end up pipping him, hence the 2 year contract he fought for, but I think winning it just made him see everything in his life clearly.

Must be nice to go out on top like this too.

EDIT: His statement says as much actually. It was his last race if he won. No wonder he started talking full human after the race.

 

[Paradise Brunch]

That came out from nowhere....

So who's going to replace him? Wehrlein? Man, from being linked to Sauber or stay at Manor. He might get jackpot of the century.

 

[hamchan]

Yeah whoever gets his spot is one lucky guy.

 

[Humidex]

Gotta be Pascal, surely. Respect to Nico, though, to bow out on a high.

 

[Hasney]

Yeah whoever gets his spot is one lucky guy.

There can only be one

Will miss Rosberg, but this does mean we get a proper driver speculation off season now!

 

[chuckddd]

what

 

[bobnowhere]

Wow.

Wehrlein hasn't signed yet, right? He'll have to step up massively to even compete with Lewis and it could be career ending. I wonder how many calls Toto is getting right about now from Driver Managers.

#buyoutthehulk

 

[Aiii]

Gotta be Pascal, surely. Respect to Nico, though, to bow out on a high.

Watch Ocon get promoted ahead of him and FI getting Wehrlein instead.

 

[Par Score]

Rosberg knew he lucked out this year, and probably won't ever get the same sort of luck again, so quit while he was ahead.

Prevents any future tarnishing of his legacy, lets him leave at the top rather than after a few more years of being second best (or worse). Smart, pragmatic, a very Nico way to retire.

 

[PdotMichael]

laughingButton.jpg

 

[brotkasten]

I bet Vettel's management is already in panic mode, lmao.

Yeah, mad respect. Think he's driven enough to the point where he'd give it another shot this year if Hamilton did end up pipping him, hence the 2 year contract he fought for, but I think winning it just made him see everything in his life clearly.

Must be nice to go out on top like this too.

EDIT: His statement says as much actually. It was his last race if he won. No wonder he started talking full human after the race.

I made the post before I read the statement. Again, can't blame him at all. Sadly, people are going to use this to diminish his achievement.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

Wow!!!

Totally unexpected

Suddenly my respect to him as a driver and a person increased by folds

What a way to bow out.. Good for him

 

[Hanmik]

The craziest thing is he just signed a contract in July with Mercedes lasting until 2018

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-...ew-mercedes-contract-until-2018-with-lewis-h/

there must be some clause in the contract..

 

[Aiii]

laughingButton.jpg

He'd be a solid option was he not contracted with McLaren until 2018. I don't see Merc buying off his contract just to have him fill a seat they can fill with almost anyone else, bar Gutierrez, and get the same results.

The craziest thing is he just signed a contract in July with Mercedes lasting until 2018

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-...ew-mercedes-contract-until-2018-with-lewis-h/

there must be some clause in the contract..

Not really, just a mutual agreement is enough. Once a guy wants to retire, there's not that much you can or want to do. No reason to keep someone around that doesn't have his heart in it, anyways. Besides, it solves a lot of issues in the team by having one of the two guys leave, really.

 

[mnz]

Just got the alert. Button regretting retiring now.

I mean...if they really need one...

 

[Hasney]

Chilton had a point:

Nico’s father (Keke) was in F1 in the era we call the killer years, when cars were over 1,000 horsepower with nowhere near the safety they have now, cars would often be on fire," Chilton said.

“Maybe Nico used to fear his father being injured and doesn’t want that now for his children.

"He’s set a goal of being world champion and he’s done that. Maybe he’s got other ambitions in life. He’s on top of the world at the moment. Big respect for him to cancel a drive with the best manufacturer in the world."

 

[Razgreez]

Wow.

Wehrlein hasn't signed yet, right? He'll have to step up massively to even compete with Lewis and it could be career ending. I wonder how many calls Toto is getting right about now from Driver Managers.

#buyoutthehulk

No, buy out Ricciardo

 

[Paradise Brunch]

So I believe next season is the first season with no reigning world champion since 1994.

 

[brotkasten]

Chilton had a point:

Wow, that's certainly something you don't read every day.

"Chilton had a point", I mean. Not his statement.

 

[Solaire of Astora]

Surprising, but respect to Rosberg for going out while on top. Must be quite difficult to walk away from the sport like that.

And now the driver market just got really interesting. Will Merc buy another driver out of his contract, or will wehrlein be given a golden chance?

 

[operon]

I can absolutely respect that. He achieved his dream, he has a wife and a baby, got the money, too. No need to risk anything anymore and rather be with his child when it grows up.

Same here.

 

[Yagami_Sama]

What the heck, what ?

And the contract he renewed was for nothing ?

I wonder who will driver for Mercedes next year, Hamilton and who else, or they will drop Hamilton ?

They will promote Wehrlein ?

 

[Lima]

Quick Vettel now is your one chance to escape that Ferrari hell.

 

[Terbinator]

Quick Vettel now is your one chance to escape that Ferrari hell.

.

Blessed and German Jesus on the same team.

 

[Aiii]

Quick Vettel now is your one chance to escape that Ferrari hell.

I am convinced he already called Lauda by now.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Holy shit, that's a surprise to wake up to.

 

[Zeknurn]

Huge respect to Rosberg, he achieved the ultimate goal in f1 and will now be able to be with his daughter instead of being being away most of the year.


Congrats Wehrlein, he got one over Ocon in the end.

 

[Staab]

Holy shit, that's one huge WTF surprise :OOOOO

I respect it massively as well, he's always been a very family oriented man. Kudos to him on honoring that.

Achieving his lifelong dream and focusing on another one : his children and his wife. /tips hat off.

Dat open seat tho....

 

[Kölsch Bloot]

I never particularly liked Britney, but this news do shock me a little.

For me, his decision makes perfect sense. All his life he worked toward his ultimate goal: being world champion. Last Sunday he won the crown. He achieved his dream. And yet he is grounded. He has a wife and a baby girl. His own little family.

And I think in a way this past seasons have made him see the light. What good is doing something you love when you cannot be with the people you love? Why create all the stress for yourself, jetting around the world 10 months a year and being away from your family?

So massive amounts of respect to Nico. it takes a special kind of person to make a decision as tough as yours! You will be missed, champ!

Spoiler

This last sentence. I never thought I'd miss Nico. Nor that I'd call him champ ^^

 

[spuckthew]

I wonder who will driver for Mercedes next year, Hamilton and who else, or they will drop Hamilton ?

Hamilton isn't going anywhere, especially with the new regs next year. They need Hamilton in order to be certain that the car will perform at its maximum capabilities. Well, unless they sign Vettel or Alonso.

If it is Hamilton and Wehrlein and the Mercedes is as fast as this year, we could see a 2004-style domination.

 

[Leonsito]

Im so sad right now

Congrats to Nico for making that decision, he achieved his dream and now he has an entire life to enjoy his family.

 

[Chuck]

What the fuuuuuuuck.

 

[giant_frying_pan]

That's....quite the shock. But if you're going to go out, might as well go out on top!

Hopefully Hamilton can get some competition from elsewhere in the form of Red Bull/Ferrari improvements or a big name moving to Mercedes...

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Is it next season yet......

 

[thenexus6]

Vettel to Mercedes!

 

[Deadman]

Every driver on the grid is talking to his agent right now.

I'm praying for Alonso. Give me the fireworks.

 

[brotkasten]

Is it next season yet......

I'd love it to be January and get all the car and driver reveals and then jump straight to the first race.

Maybe get some testing drama on one weekend I'm between.

I really can't wait.

 

[brotkasten]

Every driver on the grid is talking to his agent right now.

I'm praying for Alonso. Give me the fireworks.

This would be the most entertaining thing that would come out of this season. I'd absolutely love it. Make it happen.

 

[Zeknurn]

If it is Hamilton and Wehrlein and the Mercedes is as fast as this year, we could see a 2004-style domination.

Fuck.... I hope they get someone more experienced now.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Holy fuck what the hell is going on.

 

[Danielsan]

I would love to see Alonso got the Mercedes as well. I don't really see Wehrlein being able to bring the fight to Lewis just yet. Vettel is probably completely locked up by Ferrari, and honestly, I kind of enjoy seeing him getting Alonso'd there. Ocon would be to soon as well. Bottas could be an option, but again, I don't think he has what it takes to bring the fight to Lewis. As far as I'm concerned there are 4 drivers with the skill and fighting spirit to challenge Lewis and those drivers are Ricciardo, Alonso, Vettel and Verstappen.

 

[sems4arsenal]

Dissapointed to see him not defend his crown but respect to the guy, retiring on top is great.

Would love to see Alonso at Mercedes but probably this will mean Mercedes will be the third best team and Alonso to finish fifth in every race.

 

[RoKKeR]

Um, holy shit!

Can't fault him for going out on top honestly, but I think the sport will miss him. Seems like a good dude.

Wow.

 

[Don_Tombery]

He is right. Especially with Lewis on fire, wanting to fight back, there would be no way to have some kind of family life next to F1.
Another positive is that now Lewis and Nico can be friends again. And his little Girl, trained by Nico, 'Uncle LewLew' and 'Grandpa Keke', will be champion 2040...



So with Lewis 'fired' and Nico retiring who is gonna get the seats?

I'm all for Nikki Lauda and Susie Wolff to show off how dominant their cars are ;-)

 

[Line_HTX]

Well now, I did not expect to see this news first thing waking up. Didn't realize Nico was racing for a very long time.

Happy trails.

 

[NHale]

Haha good for Rosberg. Went out on top, no one can take away that WDC from him. Who wants to stay when he's already rich, already achieved his goal, and just takes a bunch of boos from the media and the fans in most races. Now he's going to go home and be a family man and I can't blame him.

This explains a lot especially what happened to him last year when his wife had issues with the baby... life really shows you what's really important in small glimpses of how life can be won and lost.

I'm glad he chose his family if he fears losing his life or quality of life while racing. He will never regret deciding to spend more time with this daughter when he's older that's for sure.

 

[Bulby]

Godspeed Nico!

I loved to hate you, but I sure will miss you. A top man.

 

[NHale]

Spanish press of course: Alonso is Toto Wolff's pick to replace Rosberg. Lauda doesn't want him.

I seriously doubt Mercedes is going with Pascal especially considering Ocon is their man now. It's either Ocon (with Wehrlein going to FI) or someone outside the Mercedes camp. Button makes a lot of sense (he already regretted retiring) even considering he's under contract but must be cheap to allow him to drive for Mercedes.

Putting someone "green" like Ocon in that car is a big risk when there is regulations changes. No one knows if Mercedes are going to be a dominating force where almost anyone can finish 2nd or is going to be a fight against other teams like Red Bull. Then you really need someone against that pairing of Max and Danny.

Of course if Mercedes wants to punish Hamilton for disobeying their orders at Abu Dhabi, getting Alonso is the perfect punishment...

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

Just think, Max could have been in Nico's seat next year if he'd join Merc's programme instead of Red Bull's.

 

[Hammer24]

Toto wants Wehrlein, Nikki thinks him too slow.