Nico Rosberg Retires at the Top

Five days after being proclaimed as the Formula One World Champion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg announced his retirement. At the final race of the series where he came in second to his Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg was proclaimed as the world champion thus repeating his father keke Rosberg’s feat. Keke had won the title in 1982.

Rosberg had won nine out of the 21 grand prix races held in this season and beat his more flamboyant team-mate and three-time champion Hamilton by just five points to clinch the title. Both he and Hamilton had started out as karters and Rosberg has spent over 25 years in the world of motorsports, waiting patiently for his hard work to pay off. He made his Formula One debut for the Williams team at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2006, and finished seventh in his first race. Speaking about his retirement, he said he wants to focus on his family.

The Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff said he was completely shocked by Rosberg’s decision saying the news took him “completely by surprise”. He said Nico’s decision highlighted his strength of character.

During the course of his career, Nico Rosberg participated in 206 Grand Prix races, emerging as the winner in 23 races and taking a place on the podium 57 times.