BREAKING: Nico Rosberg Retires from Formula One

[kmanitou81]

this is an earthquake in Formula 1, the big question is, who will drive the silver arrow next year ?
everyone have a contract for 2017, except Pascal Wehrlein.
Finally may be he will not be upset anymore about ocon and force India decision.
Wehrlein is a Mercedes driver btw.
Life is awesome and undpredictable , after loosing Force India contract, he will may be drive a Mercedes next year.
Would like to see ocon 's face right now, should be funny to see

excuse my english

Susie Stoddart, of course.

 

[Tim.E]

I beg Mercedes to sign Pascal alongside Lewis.

 

[Radu Oros]

Most surprising.
Mercedes listen up -- SIGN VERSTAPPEN.

If you want to see the world burn, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in the same team. But I think Lewis would still win, he's more skilled and faster than Max, if we're talking about dry racing.

 

[Deleted member 161052]

Totally shocked to see the 2016 World Champion retiring from Formula One.

 

[Jimlaad43]

 

[Alex Townsend]

Wow... just wow.
I think two things here.
First, I totally get his decision with a young family. You have a wife and baby daughter you want to be there as much as possible.
Second, I really wanted him to fight for the title. I no way do I think it was a fluke. People that think that didn't watch the same season as I did. But I will miss him fighting Hamilton again to keep it.

Will be missed. Another nice guy in F1 bites the dust. Wonder where he will end up? I'm hoping for WEC

 

[Benutzername]

 

[Monstro]

Vettel Hamilton ? (can sebastian broke his contract with Ferrari, don't think he can , don't think he want )
My favourite one: Alonso Hamilton ( Alonso can broke his contract when he want, but does Mercedes want him?)
Verstappen is locked, the contract he signed with redbull is in titanium, you can forget this option.
Wehrlein seems to be the natural choice, but Mercedes policy is :no number one, two top drivers...
So weeks to come will be very intersting

 

[KeisariKine]

Wow, I have huge respect toward Nico and this is shocking. I like it though because maybe we see another guy in the battle.
Will be interesting to see if Hamilton has power on the new driver decision and can get a second driver rather than a competitive guy or if Toto Wolff is calling Alonso, Button, Bottas, Perez and anyone else who has done good ever right now.
My guess is Bottas takes the Merc seat and Wehrlein jumps to Williams or Merc puts Wehrlein in the car for now and looks at their options with contracts nding next year. Also interesting since Kimi might be gone after this year if Ferrari has to make a move now so they don't lose their guy to Mercedes

 

[Rodent]

Werhlein would've been a given seeing as he's a Merc driver and german which is no doubt a factor, loosing Rosberg means even less interest back home for Merc. Then again he didn't exactly *wow* anyone his first year, or at least not me. If Ham stays on and can be motivated they already have a champion though so Wehr would make a decent number 2 guy.

So, since it's now mega silly season, let's throw another name into the hat. Webber's a free agent right?

 

[Chris]

So, since it's now mega silly season, let's throw another name into the hat. Webber's a free agent right?

I was thinking Valtteri might have a decent shot at it since he's also in the Mercedes family and has been linked to a Mercedes drive in the past.

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

Wehrlein the obvious choice. Kid can drive.

 

[Rodent]

I was thinking Valtteri might have a decent shot at it since he's also in the Mercedes family and has been linked to a Mercedes drive in the past.

Pat Symmonds did say it was only a matter of time before Bottas would be a race winner after all.

 

[Dovi design]

TOTO WOLFF: "We are pleased to announce that Pastor Maldonado will be racing with us next season

 

[Jimlaad43]

Only problem with Alonso joining is that I can see Hamilton throwing a wobbly in the same way Alonso did to Hamilton in 2007

 

[Rodent]

Not to mention Merc already has a more solid title contender in the Hamster, why pick another old driver when you could train a WDC in the making.

Edit: Or just give it to Webber, he's even more put the pasture then Alonso, and that's saying something.

Edit2: Rubens Barrichello, we all love him, he's a sim racer and he'll keep that market share in Brazil going!

 

[RichardHessels]

Speechless, did not see that one coming. Very impressed he has chosen for his family instead of keep chasing that next woldchampionship dragon.

Let's call Button, he might be tempted to do another year. He was WC before with them.

 

[Alistair McKinley]

Although, I have almost no interest in F1, this decision by Nico Rosberg moves me in a very positive way. I think it's very difficult to leave when one's on top. But it is a very strong move and I really admire him for his attitude towards his family. Good luck!
(Last time I was so touched by a retirement was back in October 1993.)

 

[Marco Forestieri]

View attachment 162308 The 2016 World Champion, Nico Rosberg, has stunned the sporting world by announcing his retirement from Formula One just five days after winning the World Championship in Abu Dhabi.

In a message on his Facebook page, Rosberg explained that this past season has been the most intense and draining season he's endured which inevitably put huge strain on his family life. Such a decision does not come lightly, however Rosberg is content with his choice as he himself stated prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that family is by far the most important thing in life.

Rosberg's message reads:

"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 (sic) 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 to savour 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…"
​

Nico Rosberg leaves the sport with 206 GP's under his belt, 23 wins, 30 pole positions and most importantly he leaves F1 as a World Champion. We wish him and his family all the best in future endeavors.

 

[Dave R]

I hope we see Nico in DTM in a bit.. It might work out better for him since a large majority of the races are much closer to home. I think he's far too good a driver to quit racing permanently, but I can understand the world travel and wanting to spend more time at home.