Shocked like everyone by @nico_rosberg retirement, but very impressed too. Goal achieved, rest of his life to live with his young family. 👏🏼
— Marino Franchitti (@MFranchitti) December 2, 2016
After a decade on the track, Nico Rosberg followed in his father's footsteps last weekend as he secured his first ever Formula One World Championship. After defeating teammate and competitive rival Lewis Hamilton for the title, the narrative was set for the 2017 season.
But just as F1 fans were pondering the future, Rosberg shocked the sports world by announcing his retirement from the sport.
The German stated; "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."
One has to wonder if Lewis Hamilton was aware of the decision as he tweeted a touching message to his teammate last night.
thanks for your words. it is unbelievable that what we were talking about on that night at our holiday in Greece has actually come true. https://t.co/ATs1P6auQH
— Nico Rosberg (@NicoRosberg) December 1, 2016
While the news appeared to come as a shock to Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, he had nothing but respect for Rosberg for making "a brave decision".
This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character.
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 challenger greater – and meant he had to fight even harder with the weight of expectation on his shoulder.
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.
Since 2010, he has pouted 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 and Lewis.
Rosberg himself took to Twitter to thank his friends and fans for their support over the years.
Dear fans, thx for your support over the years! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/RDSQgGjFY8
— Nico Rosberg (@NicoRosberg) December 2, 2016
Within minutes Nico Rosberg was trending worldwide after breaking the internet with his 'mic drop'.
"A huge shock. I'm blown away!"
Live on air, ex F1 driver Max Chilton finds out the news Nico Rosberg has retired https://t.co/cUXm3n7TsF— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) December 2, 2016
Hi everyone! We've just come back from our departmental Christmas lunch, lovely venue but had no signal... Did we miss anything?! 😁
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) December 2, 2016
Big respect 👏🏻
Good luck @nico_rosberg pic.twitter.com/PUxKSitrd8— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) December 2, 2016
Seeing that Nico Rosberg just retired... pic.twitter.com/fwhxcxwMMv
— Texas Motor Speedway (@TXMotorSpeedway) December 2, 2016
So that's why the Nico news slipped past EJ - he's on the slopes 🎿
But he still found the time to send us his Nico Rosberg reaction#C4F1 pic.twitter.com/zmDuDsX9H8— Channel 4 F1® (@C4F1) December 2, 2016
Shocked like everyone by @nico_rosberg retirement, but very impressed too. Goal achieved, rest of his life to live with his young family. 👏🏼
— Marino Franchitti (@MFranchitti) December 2, 2016
Definitely a great Champion!!!! Big admiration @nico_rosberg #respect
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) December 2, 2016
