Newly crowned Formula One champ Nico Rosberg announces his retirement

By Stephen Edelstein December 2, 2016

Nico Rosberg — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Talk about going out on top.

Over the weekend, Nico Rosberg won his first Formula One championship, beating Mercedes-Benz teammate and three-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Just days after that crowning achievement, Rosberg is retiring from F1, effective immediately. The announcement was a complete surprise, with Rosberg giving no previous indication that he was planning to retire, according to Reuters.

“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,” Rosberg said in a Facebook post. The 31-year-old German said he had been considering retirement even before Sunday’s race in Abu Dhabi, where he clinched the championship. He said he made his final decision on Monday, the day after the win.

Having achieved his ultimate goal of winning an F1 championship, Rosberg said he is no longer willing to live under the pressure of being a title contender. After a win in Suzuka made hime the favorite to win the championship “the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became world champion,” he said, adding that his racing career has taken a toll on his family. Rosberg became a father last year.

Rosberg gave no indication of his future plans, although many drivers have gone on to other forms of racing after leaving F1. He retires with a record of 23 wins in 206 races, and is only the second son of a champion to win the title. His father, Keke Rosberg, won the championship in 1982. Rosberg is also the first German driver in the history of F1 to win a world title in a German car. His battle with teammate Hamilton, the reigning champion, enlivened the 2016 F1 season, which was otherwise lacking in action because of the utter dominance of the Mercedes team.

Mercedes has won both the driver’s and constructors’ championships (F1 awards both every year) for the past three years, and won 19 of the 21 races this season. That makes Rosberg’s seat highly coveted, and could make next season very interesting indeed.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Tesla introduces ‘congestion fee’ for Supercharger stations

Tesla Supercharger

Tesla has been charging an idle fee for years in a bid to free up its Superchargers and prevent traffic jams at charging stations. But now it’s introducing a new congestion fee, which in some places will replace the idle fee.

To recap, idle fees kick in when a Supercharger station is at 50% capacity. It means that if a car is left plugged in after it is fully charged, the owner has to pay 50 cents a minute until they leave. If the station is 100% occupied, the fee doubles to $1 a minute.

Cars

This popular car jump starter is 86% off for Black Friday

AVAPOW 6000A Car Jump Starter

There's nothing worse than needing to go somewhere and having to deal with a dead car battery. Fixing that issue can also be a problem since you'll need to call for help from a friend or neighbor or something like AAA. Luckily, car starters have become pretty powerful in recent years, so even if you have a truck or an RV, you can start a dead battery relatively easily. One great example is the Avapow 6000A car jump starter, which has an excellent Black Friday deal from Walmart, knocking it down to $86 from $144.

Why you should buy the AVAPOW 6000A Car Jump Starter
As the name might suggest, the Avapow 6000A has a massive 6000A peak current, which means it's suitable for everything from trucks to tractors, so it's a very versatile tool, and it's even had upgraded jumper cable to handle those currents. It's also a pretty smart system since it has eight layers of safety protocols to ensure you don't accidentally fry a battery or yourself trying to jump-start, and even the jumper cables have safety indicators on them, which is a great design choice.

Cars

This Graco car seat lasts for ten years, and it’s 25% off for Black Friday

Graco 4EVER 4-in-1 baby car seat black friday deal

A good car seat will adjust as your child grows, reducing the amount of times you have to buy a newer, bigger model. How, you ask? Well, Graco's 4EVER DLX 4-in-1 car seat is the ideal example. It offers up to ten years of use, with seamless transformations between rear-facing harness, forward-facing harness, high back belt positioned, and backless belt positioned booster modes.

For Black Friday -- and really, this should be featured in the best Black Friday deals -- this exact car seat is on sale for 25% off, which is a discount of $82. Normally $330, it's yours today for just $248. Considering you'll never have to buy another seat for ten years, and by then, they can use a seatbelt, it's a fantastic investment.