Rosberg Retires

cairns · 12-02-2016, 05:33 AM

No I'm not making this up. But can't quite believe it.

Nico Rosberg stuns Formula One with shock retirement days after winning championship

RonDent · 12-02-2016, 05:36 AM

I was ready to call BS but, here it is! What a shocker!
Rosberg stuns F1 by announcing retirement Â· F1 Fanatic

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

He had to give up a lot of other things in life to go racing, he's now in a position to do near whatever else he wants. The situation with his teammate trying to get his own teammate to lose a race, is not a good life to continue.

The 2017 car is going to be very exhaustive to drive, far more Ge-Force, something going wrong will hurt much harder. I'm sure Hamilton's strange mind as a teammate, plus the increased physical stress are major factors.

Accounts I've heard of Nico, are that he'd be brilliant at a lot more than just a racing driver. Time will tell.

masraum · 12-02-2016, 05:40 AM

Quit while you're on top, and if he was smart, he should be set for life. Besides, as much safety as there is, it's still a dangerous sport.

Rtrorkt · 12-02-2016, 05:59 AM

couldn't stand the sustained heat.

Deschodt · 12-02-2016, 06:05 AM

Toto wolf sums it up nicely:
""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. [...]

Pretty much...The guy is good but knows he's not as good as Hamilton. He gave it his all and won one. Walks away, box ticked. Respect.... Big respect ! I can't begin to imagine how tiring it must have been to pick oneself off the floor after each Lewis victory and 2 close WC losses... Good on you Nico !

ted · ted's Garage

Good for Nico!

Late in silly season but it could shuffle some drivers eventually.

legion · 12-02-2016, 06:34 AM

Wow. I did not see that coming.

I'm willing to bet that like Lauda/Hunt and Senna/Prost, Hamilton and Rosberg really do become friends. They've been rivals their whole lives, but each is also the only other guy that has been there every step their careers.

motion · 12-02-2016, 06:36 AM

Honestly, it sounds like this season was very hard on him and he has no desire to repeat it. He knows LH is faster and the only way for him to win again is when LH has bad luck. Reading some of the things he has said this year, I get the feeling that his persona was pushed to the absolute maximum breaking point. I'm surprised that he was able to hold it together so well.

Perhaps Mercedes will bring someone up from their development program, or hire the GP2 winner. They already have someone in LH that is capable of winning the WDC, so why not bring up a young un?

Neilk · 12-02-2016, 06:47 AM

Not a Rosberg fan, but new found respect for him with him leaving on top.

Henry Schmidt · 12-02-2016, 06:57 AM

No room in Formula One for "nice guys"?
The sport is transforming and I hate to some of the elder statesmen leaving.
People like Massa, Button and now Nico brought a sportsman like attitude to F1 that I believe is on the decline.
I will miss them all.

I'm a Vettel fan but his whining is making me reassess my appreciation. It was always my complaint about Alonso.
I like the off track part of F1 as much or maybe more than the racing and this newer group of whiny little "b*tches" is tedious in the extreme.

DaveE · 12-02-2016, 07:05 AM

I'd like to see Verstappen go to Mercedes. The duel between he and Hambone would be fascinating.

legion · 12-02-2016, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neilk

Not a Rosberg fan, but new found respect for him with him leaving on top.

^This.

legion · 12-02-2016, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motion

Honestly, it sounds like this season was very hard on him and he has no desire to repeat it. He knows LH is faster and the only way for him to win again is when LH has bad luck. Reading some of the things he has said this year, I get the feeling that his persona was pushed to the absolute maximum breaking point. I'm surprised that he was able to hold it together so well.

Perhaps Mercedes will bring someone up from their development program, or hire the GP2 winner. They already have someone in LH that is capable of winning the WDC, so why not bring up a young un?

No doubt F1 is a pressure-cooker. Even if I had the talent (which I don't), I'm not sure I could handle the pressure. I think Lewis thrives on the thrill of the pressure. Sure, he does some weird stuff to cope, but he does cope and he does perform. It will be interesting to see if Hamilton can keep it up next year if he doesn't have a team mate that pressures him.

Mercedes probably would be wise to bring in a young pup though and let the team not be in a state of conflict for a season. Of course, I recall when McLaren paired an experienced world champion with a (seemingly) non-threatening newcomer back in 2007, so that doesn't always work out.

livi · 12-02-2016, 07:49 AM

Good for him. Big loss for the sport.

legion · 12-02-2016, 08:13 AM

Rosberg wanted to be champion. Hamilton wants to be one of the greats (if not the greatest).

It's a shame Hamilton and Vettel haven't had good cars the same years, though Hamilton has won a race every season he's been in F1.

mikehinton · mikehinton's Garage

One thing to keep in mind about Hamilton winning a race in every year is that his TEAMMATE also won a race every year too. So obviously, Lewis has had the benefit of race-winning machinery his entire career. Not to diminish his talent or accomplishments, but it's worth noting.

bkreigsr · 12-02-2016, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

No room in Formula One for "nice guys"?
The sport is transforming and I hate to some of the elder statesmen leaving.
People like Massa, Button and now Nico brought a sportsman like attitude to F1 that I believe is on the decline.
I will miss them all.
I'm a Vettel fan but his whining is making me reassess my appreciation. It was always my complaint about Alonso.
I like the off track part of F1 as much or maybe more than the racing and this newer group of whiny little "b*tches" is tedious in the extreme.

I found a new respect for Vettel last Sunday. He could have screwed with the championship during the last 3 laps. He was in a position to challenge Nico with LH playing the granny game, but decided discretion was the better form of valor and let things level out on their own accord.
Bill K

greglepore · 09:04 AM

Big loss for sport, big gain for Fernando...

sand_man · 12-02-2016, 09:19 AM

NICE! WOW, was not expecting this! Maybe after some time off, he can try his hand at the WEC or IMSA scene?