Nico Rosberg shocked the world just five days after the winning the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with the announcement that he’s retiring from Formula 1 racing.
The German driver wrote in release published via Twitter and Facebook, that now that he has accomplished his objective of becoming a Formula 1 champion this feels like the right moment to walk away and is very thankful with everyone who helped make this dream possible.
“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.”
He pointed out that his failures of the last two years motivated him to work harder than ever before and that had a big impact on his family, which had to sacrifice a lot of time away from the driver, as he needed space to focus on the championship. Rosberg emphasized this was something he could not have achieved without the help of his wife Vivian.
“This season, I tell you, it was so damn tough. 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.”
“…it was a whole family effort of sacrifice, putting everything behind our target. I cannot find enough words to thank my wife Vivian; she has been incredible. She understood that this year was the big one”
He was thankful his wife “created the space for me to get full recovery between every race, looking after our daughter each night, taking over when things got tough and putting our championship first.”
Rosberg also mentioned that once he knew that the destiny of the title was in his own hands he began to think about retiring from racing if he became world champion.
“When I won the race in Suzuka, 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.”
As he was closer to making up his mind and realized that the Abu Dhabi race could be his last he felt relieved and cleared his head to enjoy what could be the last laps of his Formula 1 career.
“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… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life.”
Rosberg confessed in the release that he made up his mind on Tuesday, just two day after the he had won the title and that his wife was the first one to know, followed by members of the Mercedes team.
“I took my decision on Monday evening. After reflecting for a day, the first people I told were Vivian and Georg (Nolte, from Nico’s management team), followed by Toto.”
Rosberg seems to be at peace with his choice, nonetheless he felt this was a tough decision mostly because he’s putting his team on a tough spot.
“The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a tough situation. But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me.”
The former Mercedes driver mentioned that winning the title with the Silver Arrows will forever be his proudest achievement, but now he needs to reflect and savor the moment before deciding what his next step in life will be.
“Now, I’m just here to enjoy the moment. There is time to savour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way. After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me…”
