In 2017, Nico Rosberg drove like a champion – and now he is retiring like a champion – as Rosberg announced that he is finished with Formula One racing as a career.
Rosberg – who is only 31 years old – won his first and what appears to be his only – Formula One world championship last weekend, clinching the 2016 title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with 385 points to 380 points of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
“I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right,” said Rosberg, in justifying his decision to retire.
Rosberg won nine races this season and became one of the few racers to achieve the rarity of a father-son F1 world championship feat after his father, Keke Rosberg won the F1 world title in 1982.
Rosberg’s final F1 numbers read: 206 grands prix, 57 podiums, 23 wins and, of course, one world championship.