Nico Erik Rosberg, Mercedes F1 driver, shocked the world at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after he won his first world title on Sunday - beating Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by five points after finishing second behind the Briton at last weekend. The 31 – year – old German driver took to his Facebook page to announce his retirement from motorsports.

“I have climbed my mountain, I’m on the peak, so this feels right,” Rosberg said
Rosberg reveals that he made the decision to retire last Monday evening after the Grand Prix, hours after claiming his world championship title.

“For 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula 1 world champion” he added

“Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target and now I’ve made it.”

“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 fueled my motivation to levels I had never experienced before. And, of course, that had an impact on the ones I love, too - 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, our opportunity to do it, and 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.”
Nico Rosberg is the fourth driver in history to win the Monaco Grand Prix three time in a row and also the fourth driver to Win 7 Grand Prix in a row. With 23 Grand Prix victories, 30 pole positions and 57 podiums from a career spanning 11 seasons and 206 races! This is what you would call a glorious exit, one that won’t be forgotten in a very long time.

Mercedes took the news pretty well considering that in July 2016, Rosberg signed a new contract to stay with the Mercedes team until the end of 2018. Mercedes has expressed their gratitude to the world champion.

"This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character,” said Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

“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,” added Wolff.

“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 challenge greater - and meant he had to fight even harder with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

"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 poured 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.”

"For the team, this is an unexpected situation but also an exciting one. We are going into a new era of technical regulations and there is a free Mercedes cockpit for the seasons ahead. We will take the necessary time to evaluate our options and then find the right path for our future."
Who could replace Nico Rosberg

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