Rosberg is the first reigning World Champion to retire before defending his crown since Alain Prost in 1993.
Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, thanked Rosberg for his years of dedication to the team, with the German’s first drive for Mercedes F1 coming in 2010.
“This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character,” Wolff said. “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.”
Rosberg’s F1 career ends with 23 wins (tied for 12th all-time), 30 poles (eighth all-time) and 20 fastest laps in 206 starts. All of his Grand Prix victories came in Silver Arrow machinery.
“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,” Wolff added. “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 (Schumacher) and Lewis.”
Mercedes will now look towards the future as they seek a replacement for the reigning champion, ahead of a new technical era for the series in 2017.
“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.”
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as both the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series and the co-track announcer at Millbridge Speedway.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
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