The first people he told were his wife, Vivian, and manager, Georg Nolte, followed by the team’s head of motorsport, Toto Wolff. “I didn’t know if I had the balls, and I took a bit of time,” he said. It was then that the German made his decision. He went into that race needing to finish in the top three and claimed that the process of considering his exit had cleared his head before the race.Īfterwards, he partied until the early hours before flying to Kuala Lumpur for a sponsors engagement on Monday. His mind was almost made up before his final, title-securing race on Sunday. “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 in a post on his Facebook page announcing his departure. Rosberg said he first started thinking about retiring when he won the Japanese Grand Prix in early October and realised the title was within his grasp. He signed a new contract with Mercedes for 2017 in the summer, worth £18.3m. Rosberg, who claimed his maiden title in the deciding race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, made his sensational revelation at a press conference in Vienna, saying that the championship had always been his dream and, having clinched it, he would walk away. Maybe he’s fed up being there and they’re fed up having him.” But a shocked Mercedes said they would not rush into making an appointment. “They’ve got new management now at McLaren. “It’s possible I suppose, let’s see,” he said. The watertightness of Alonso’s contract at McLaren is the subject of some conjecture and F1’s chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone, says the Spaniard would be his choice.
Wehrlein has deputised for both Hamilton and Rosberg in testing. Instead, Mercedes could make a short-term fix and opt for another German, Pascal Wehrlein, 22, a member of the team’s young driver programme. Fernando Alonso (McLaren), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo (both Red Bull) would be obvious targets, but all are contracted to their respective teams for 2017. Interest will now focus on the driver Mercedes will choose to replace the world champion. He’s also got a family to focus on, and wants more children, and Formula One takes so much of your time. This is the first time he’s won a title in 18 years, hence why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop. The British driver said: “I’m probably one of the only people that it was not a surprise to.
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