Nico Rosberg to retire from F1 (!)

[hemichromis]

To be honest i commend Rosberg for this decision. So many continue on hoping for better things, look at Alonso fighting to get in Q3, Vettel looking decidedly average against a teamate on the cusp of retiring.

I'm surprised, some would say he lacks the racing heart of the Hamilton but what more could he achieve?

Prove beyond doubt that he was more than just 'captain lucky' in 2016?

He's champion, that's all that matters, they don't offer different championships for luck and unlucky racers.

I'm trying to overlook that you are asking for proof beyond doubt for something that isn't provable either way!

[SectorOne]

Red Bull should be an epic intra-team battle next year, but IF the cars are evenly matched between the teams, is Merc better poised to go with a #1/#2 situation?

Depends on the ultimate goal.
A 1/1 situation is always better for a WCC.
A 1/2 situation will seal a WDC much faster.

I feel that you need a 1/1 team because ultimately for the team the WCC is all that counts.
It´s what put food on the table, not WDC´s.

[Sevach]

Red Bull should be an epic intra-team battle next year, but IF the cars are evenly matched between the teams, is Merc better poised to go with a #1/#2 situation?

Depends on the ultimate goal.
A 1/1 situation is always better for a WCC.
A 1/2 situation will seal a WDC much faster.

I feel that you need a 1/1 team because ultimately for the team the WCC is all that counts.
It´s what put food on the table, not WDC´s.

I wouldn't say always, remember Spain or Austria?
A happy second, Massa circa 06 for example, is probably the best of both worlds, but it's not easy to find them(and they don't stay happy for long).

[Redragon]

Riccardo would be a great move. He would be happy to leave Redbull because of Verstapen and Sainz can be promoted to first Redbull team.

[anzx]

What about that.
If you look at all time list:
1. Schumacher with 91 wins
2. Hamilton with 53 wins

If we assume these two are the best drivers in F1 ever. Then I must say Rosberg's move is pure genius. In theory that means Rosberg is the best driver of all time, he beat both Hamilton and Schumacher in the same car. So in other words, the more wins Hamilton gets in upcoming years, more will that suit Rosberg. So at the end we can say Rosberg is the best driver of all time! Haha.

[GrizzleBoy]

Looks like Lewis' previous "Nico is not as hungry as I am" comments were much more relevant than we realised.

Also kind of ironic that even with Merc giving Nico a WDC, Lewis will still be doing all the publicity work and keeping the media focus on the team.

I thought Vettels four years of winning and invisibility outside of the track was bad enough for the sport. This takes it to a new level.

This WDC just feels so empty.

[djos]

Looks like Lewis' previous "Nico is not as hungry as I am" comments were much more relevant than we realised.

Also kind of ironic that even with Merc giving Nico a WDC, Lewis will still be doing all the publicity work and keeping the media focus on the team.

And when Nico was asked by the sky team if he was going to put the #1 on his car next year he said something along the lines of "not even thinking about that".

[Manoah2u]

Why is it distasteful? Should I like him as a driver or a personality? Merc can do so much better than a mediocre driver that Nico is. Him and Button I rate the lowest of all the champions in the last 18-19 years or so that i've watched the sport. As I personality too, I just don't like him, I didn't (and wouldn't) wish him anything bad in his life obv, but as a driver it's better for all that he retires, really nothing to miss about him, or Jenson to be honest.

lol, Jenson has proven he is a stellar driver. One only has to watch how he held his own against well-settled Lewis @ Mclaren in 2010-2012 to notice just how good he faired.

As for Nico, i think despite he has had a little help from the team, one should realise that that same 'help' was given initially to Lewis. So in a sense it was 'unfair' it was 'taken' from Lewis, the other side of the medal would indicate that if it was 'unfair' for Lewis, it was 'unfair' for Nico the years before. However you want to put it, Nico put up his own against Lewis and ALL YEARS the battle was INTENSE.

This is evidence that Nico gave one hellova fight against Lewis, and is a clear indication he is to be taken serious.
I preffered to have NOT seen that Lewis DNF, but at the same, I think it's been a great year, and really, Lewis is WDC already.
It is NOT an easy task to be WDC, and especially against Lewis. So I applaud Nico for that. Do i like the fella? nah. But who cares? Do I like Lewis? I don't know, but it doesnt really bother.

I am happy for Nico to be honest, and I am glad he achieved what he wanted.
I respect his decision, though i would have preferred to see otherwise. I have not seen him so stable as he was this year before and i was curious to see what he might achieve with this attitude.

That being said, he raced for 25 years, has had great F1 battles, achieved his ultimate goal, and has enough money to retire for life in comfort and rest. Atleast he won't go down as a 'has-been' that spends the rest of his career with a label 'former f1 driver' in WEC or anything like that, or Formula E. I personally think this is a better legacy than what Webber did, for example.

[ME4ME]

I'm not sure if Mercedes has any choice regarding having a nr1 driver, or equal drivers. Hamilton having just lost a championship, he will be motivated and incredibly hard to beat next year. There are only 3-4 drivers which may be able to do it, and they're all under contract.

Wehrlein, Ocon, Bottas or even Perez will have a tough time in the Mercedes seat, and might become 2nd drivers by default if their performance goes that way.

[RA168E]

I'm not sure if Mercedes has any choice regarding having a nr1 driver, or equal drivers. Hamilton having just lost a championship, he will be motivated and incredibly hard to beat next year. There are only 3-4 drivers which may be able to do it, and they're all under contract.

Wehrlein, Ocon, Bottas or even Perez will have a tough time in the Mercedes seat, and might become 2nd drivers by default if their performance goes that way.

I agree with you mostly, but I believe Checo would do well, the way hes driven in the last 3 years against Hulkenberg has been nothing short of stunning.

[ringo]

I feel Nico's decision is a good one, he manage to steal fire from mount Olympus by winning the WDC this year, and i don't think he or Mercedes tacticians will have the energy to tilt things towards him next year, or have the obligation to.

But i feel a month from now things will look a little dry and obtuse when the reigning WDC is not present and Mercedes are not able to feature him anywhere for the sport. He also seems kind of weak if you ask me by retiring now.
He is still fairly young. He could have had the opportunity to rise further to legendary status by continuing but i guess a handful of drivers in the world have that hunger to be great, so can't blame him.

I just wont be surprised if he is a forgotten champion in 1.5 years time. He is basically a flash in the pan if you look on how he won, especially given the fact he has never demonstrated dominance at any given time in his career, even during his winning year. So i'm not so ecstatic about him leaving. Mercedes may also feel relieved and used at the same time by Nico.
They did so much for him to win, and yet they can't really use him as a German champion much more (unless he agrees to market for mercedes while he is gone) and so they are stuck with that anarchist Lewis Hamilton to carry on the mantle.

Anyway all that's left to do now is for Nico to buy out Lauda's shares in the team and turn to Hamilton's boss.

[ScottB]

I'm not sure if Mercedes has any choice regarding having a nr1 driver, or equal drivers. Hamilton having just lost a championship, he will be motivated and incredibly hard to beat next year. There are only 3-4 drivers which may be able to do it, and they're all under contract.

Wehrlein, Ocon, Bottas or even Perez will have a tough time in the Mercedes seat, and might become 2nd drivers by default if their performance goes that way.

I think he would have been fired up to come back and prove a point that he's better than Rosberg.

But without Nico? I'm not so sure. I think we saw at the end of last year, and spells this year, that when Lewis lacks motivation, or thinks he's got the job done, his performance levels can drop, noticeably.

His thing was always about matching Senna. Once that was done it was like he, consciously or subconsciously, wasn't that bothered. Nico's success this year, and Hamilton's view that the title should have been his could well have got him all fired up like he was at the start of the 2015 season, but I do wonder which Lewis will appear next year now.

Maybe if Red Bull or someone else can become a credible threat, that'll be enough, but if he gets paired with someone he'll easily wiper the floor with, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes off the boil again.

[ringo]

Mercedes owes Lewis a #1 drive.
He has done so much for them. Especially on the corporate side of things.
Nico is now just a looter, and is gone with the wind. Lewis is now the one with the longest spell at the team, longer than toto and lauda. So they owe Lewis more respect and privilege.
They should forget about another top driver and just put a young spud in the car to take over when Hamilton has his 5 titles and is bored with F1.
If they want to win every race in 2017 they need to give Hamilton full control.

[ab_f1]

I'm not sure if Mercedes has any choice regarding having a nr1 driver, or equal drivers. Hamilton having just lost a championship, he will be motivated and incredibly hard to beat next year. There are only 3-4 drivers which may be able to do it, and they're all under contract.

Wehrlein, Ocon, Bottas or even Perez will have a tough time in the Mercedes seat, and might become 2nd drivers by default if their performance goes that way.

I think he would have been fired up to come back and prove a point that he's better than Rosberg.

But without Nico? I'm not so sure. I think we saw at the end of last year, and spells this year, that when Lewis lacks motivation, or thinks he's got the job done, his performance levels can drop, noticeably.

His thing was always about matching Senna. Once that was done it was like he, consciously or subconsciously, wasn't that bothered. Nico's success this year, and Hamilton's view that the title should have been his could well have got him all fired up like he was at the start of the 2015 season, but I do wonder which Lewis will appear next year now.

Maybe if Red Bull or someone else can become a credible threat, that'll be enough, but if he gets paired with someone he'll easily wiper the floor with, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes off the boil again.

My thoughts exactly. Even Toto said that Lewis needs an adversary to perform. Interestingly most of the Pirelli testing for Mercedes has been done by Nico and Pascal. Probably why Lauda wanted Lewis at the Abhu Dhabi test.

[Manoah2u]

I think we'll see Mercedes 'donate' the WDC winning car of this year to Nico like Williams did to Massa as a gesture.