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Newly-crowned Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg announces immediate retirement

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J

Juicy Bob

Member
Just announced on Facebook.

Rosberg had signed a two-year, £17m a year contract extension at Mercedes AMG F1 earlier this year. Having narrowly clinched his first world title last weekend in Abu Dhabi ahead of team mate and rival Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg has chosen to retire from racing entirely instead.

Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target.And now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen.

“This season, I tell you, it was so damn tough. I pushed like crazy in every area after the disappointments of the last two years; they fuelled my motivation to levels I had never experienced before. And of course that had an impact on the ones I love, too – it was a whole family effort of sacrifice, putting everything behind our target. I cannot find enough words to thank my wife Vivian; she has been incredible. She understood that this year was the big one, our opportunity to do it, and created the space for me to get full recovery between every race, looking after our daughter each night, taking over when things got tough and putting our championship first.

“When I won the race in Suzuka, from the moment when the destiny of the title was in my own hands, the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became World Champion. On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start. I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life. I took my decision on Monday evening. After reflecting for a day, the first people I told were Vivian and Georg (Nolte, from Nico’s management team), followed by Toto.

“The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a tough situation. But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me. My proudest achievement in racing will always be to have won the world championship with this incredible team of people,the Silver Arrows.

“Now, I’m just here to enjoy the moment. There is time tosavour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way. After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me…”
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5IeoNXP.jpg
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
I can't think of any other F1 driver who got their first world championship and immediately quit. Like, it's not even been a week.

[Edit] Actually reading the note: it took a day for him to decide to retire. A day! Not even enough time to film a Rolex advert.
 
nekkid

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Wow I actually really respect him for that. If he's realistic he's really going to be unlikely to do it again, so leaving on a high like this will be the nicest possible way to exit for him, and he'll probably be regarded better in history than other one-time WDCs like, say, Raikkonen and Button whose last years in F1 are simply just being there and not much else (no, Raikkonen won't win next year).

Right, now the plaudits are over, let's talk conspiracy theories...
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
Joni said:
It will be interesting to see how this will impact the silly season.
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The impression I've got was that the silly season was basically settled outside of Manor, but now that a seat in the undisputed #1 team (right now) just opened up, it's going to be mayhem.
 
O

Orbis

Member
What a bombshell, that's a pretty unprecedented move. 1st WDC and he retires. I've read what he's said though and I respect his decision.

I'm torn between wanting a big name buying themselves out of their contract to jump over and someone like Wehrlein getting the seat.
 
R

Roland_Gunner

Member
Delusibeta said:
I can't think of any other F1 driver who got their first world championship and immediately quit. Like, it's not even been a week.
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The closest comparison I can come up with in any sport is Maya DiRado, the US olympic swimmer who retired right after winning two golds this summer. She quit because there was more money in a professional career outside of swimming which is certainly not the case here.
 
I

itsgreen

Member
Orbis said:
What a bombshell, that's a pretty unprecedented move. 1st WDC and he retires. I've read what he's said though and I respect his decision.

I'm torn between wanting a big name buying themselves out of their contract to jump over and someone like Wehrlein getting the seat.
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Pascal will be demolished by Lewis.
 
T

TCRS

Banned
Just when things were getting fun. But he knows he'll never be that good again. That's the difference between just above average drivers like Rosberg and absolute Champions like Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton: the ability to constantly deliver at that high level. Rosberg just doesn't have it.
 
C

Confrontation

Member
Oh well, since it's the car that matters, not the driver in this sport, he will be forgotten really soon. Best of luck to him for making this ballsy decision.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Shocking news, but massive respect to Rosberg for finally beating his rival and then choosing his newborn and wife over his job.

Of course such a thing is easier to do when you're financially set, but walking away from the top drive in a sport you've worked your entire life for to get, that still takes a massive set of balls. Good on Nico.
 
nekkid

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
This can't have been a surprise to Mercedes. It's probably a clause in his 2 year deal. You would think they've got a plan - possibly buying Ocon out of his contract?
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
krang said:
This can't have been a surprise to Mercedes. It's probably a clause in his 2 year deal. You would think they've got a plan - possibly buying Ocon out of his contract?
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They put him at FI, pretty sure they don't have to buy him out of his contract. They can easily swap him out with Wehrlein, I don't doubt. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a "we can call up Ocon to Mercedes at any time"-clause in that contract.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Hasney said:
I honestly really doubt it. As soon as he got out the car in the last race, it was like a weight was off him and it was more than the championship.
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Yeah, Nico doesn't seem like the guy to have regrets about a descision like this.
 
R

Ruruja

Member
There are people hoping for Max. No way Merc would do that.

I think a Lewis-Max partnership would implode in the first race.
 
IISANDERII

IISANDERII

Member
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. The enormous commitment and pressure it takes is immense and doing another campaign all over again must send stress levels off the scale. I think a similar thing is happening with Novak Djokovic right now though of course he's not quitting outright but he is re prioritizing his life.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Ruruja said:
There are people hoping for Max. No way Merc would do that.

I think a Lewis-Max partnership would implode in the first race.
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There's no way Max would do that.

With the engine tokens leaving, the 2017 rules changing, and Newey designing the new RBR, both RIC and Max would be insane to move from RBR to an unknown.
 
R

RSP

Member
Lewis' social media has been pretty quiet for a couple of days now.

Two-stage surprise coming up?
 
J

jey_16

Banned
WOW....was not expecting this but props to him, putting his personal life and family ahead of the sport
 
nekkid

nekkid

It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
RSP said:
Lewis' social media has been pretty quiet for a couple of days now.

Two-stage surprise coming up?
Click to expand...

He's already talked about coming back next year, so I doubt it.
 
R

Ruruja

Member
Aiii said:
There's no way Max would do that.

With the engine tokens leaving, the 2017 rules changing, and Newey designing the new RBR, both RIC and Max would be insane to move from RBR to an unknown.
Click to expand...

True. Especially with next year's rules increasing aerodynamics importance. Something RBR is a specialist in.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
Toto's statement from the Merc website:
“This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character. He has chosen to leave at the pinnacle of his career, as World Champion, having achieved his childhood dream. The clarity of his judgement meant I accepted his decision straight away when he told me.

“It’s impossible to capture the essence of a person in a few short words. But Nico has a special combination of natural talent and fighting spirit that have brought him to where he is today. Throughout his career, people have thought he was on a golden path to success just because his father was a World Champion; in fact, I think in some ways that made the challenge greater – and meant he had to fight even harder with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

“With Mercedes, Nico has been a relentless competitor, bouncing back from tough times in an inspirational way, and he earned the respect of the sport with his tenacity, his fighting spirit and his grace under pressure. Since 2010, he has poured competitive energy into our team and we have grown stronger because of it. We simply say ‘thank you’ for the incredible contribution he has made to our success, alongside two of the all-time great drivers, Michael and Lewis.

“For the team, this is an unexpected situation but also an exciting one. We are going into a new era of technical regulations and there is a free Mercedes cockpit for the seasons ahead. We will take the necessary time to evaluate our options and then find the right path for our future.”
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M

mnz

Unconfirmed Member
This has happened a couple of times now with very succesful German athletes. Like Philipp Lahm after winning the world cup as captain and Magdalena Neuner right when she was maybe the best female biathlete of all time at the age of 25 or something.
Must have left an impression

1024_778208_1423720_3762_3780_GES_GI_EPP0106_004.jpg
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