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Rosberg’s retirement stuns racing world
Nico Rosberg stunned Formula One with the shock announcement that he was retiring only days after achieving his lifetime ambition by winning his first world championship with Mercedes.
By
migrator
migrator
Vienna
“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,” the German said on Facebook. “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,” the 31-year-old added. “I took my decision on Monday evening,” added the driver, who had given no previous indication of his intentions and had been at the team factory in Brackley on Thursday after a trip to his German birthplace of Wiesbaden.
Rosberg, who was due to attend the governing FIA’s gala prize-giving in Vienna later on Friday along with team mate and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton, did not say what he planned to do next. He will leave with a record of 23 wins in 206 races and as only the second son of a champion to take the title, following in the footsteps of 1982 winner and father Keke. “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,” he said. “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.” His sudden departure leaves a vacancy that any driver on the grid would fight for, Mercedes being the most dominant team in the sport with 19 wins in 21 races.
HOME RUN
- BORN: Wiesbaden, Germany on June 27, 1985
- Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, a triple world champion, were team mates in go-karts in 2000.
- Tested for Williams in 2004. Made his Formula One race debut with Williams in Bahrain in 2006.
- Joined Mercedes in 2010 season and partnered Michael Schumacher.
- Outscored Schumacher in the 2011 and 2012, taking his first pole and grand prix victory in China in 2012.
- The German was championship runner-up to Hamilton in 2015 but ended the year strongly with three straight wins.
- He and Keke Rosberg are the second father-son duo to win a Formula One championship title after Graham and Damon Hill
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