Nico Rosberg Announces Shock Retirement From Formula One

Formula one Champion Nico Rosberg has shocked Formula one world by announcing his retirement from Formula One five days after becoming world champion at the season-deciding race in Abu Dhabi last Sunday.

Rosberg made the shock revelation at a press conference in Vienna, saying that winning the title had always been his dream and, having achieved it, he would stand down. 

He also wrote on Facebook: “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.”

I have a message for you: https://t.co/XtL5AWuY4n pic.twitter.com/LGK4Xnihoq

— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) December 2, 2016

His battle with his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton dominated the season, after he had lost the 2014 and 2015 world title to the Briton. Hamilton overcame engine problems to push Rosberg to the last race but could not overhaul the German, who admitted he found the fight difficult.

“This season, I tell you, it was so damn tough,” wrote Rosberg. “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.”

The 31-year-old Rosberg said he started thinking about retiring after he won at Suzuka in early October and realized a world title was within his grasp. “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,” he wrote.

He said that he had almost made the decision by the morning of the season-ending Abu Dhabi race and that the process had cleared his head. He made a final call the day after winning the title. “It was a process on Monday,” Rosberg added. “I didn’t know if I had the balls, and I took a bit of time.”

The first people he told were his wife and manager, and then the team, via the team’s head, Toto Wolff. “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.”

Goodluck to him on his future endeavors....