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2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg reveals a fear that drove his decision to retire from Formula 1 immediately after winning the 2016 championship.
From 2014 until 2016, Mercedes team-mates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were engaged in a fierce title fight.
While Hamilton won in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg finally managed to win his first championship in 2016.
However, immediately after winning the title, Rosberg shocked everybody by announcing his retirement at only 31 years old.
While his reasons for quitting were never explained in detail, he has now revealed an interesting fear that made the decision easy for him.
“I was afraid that if I had continued, I would not be fast enough,” Rosberg said.
“And then at some point there would be no team left that would want me. So I’d rather stop too early than too late. I wanted to be able to decide for myself.”
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He then explained the difficulties he faced when he finally announced his decision.
“Everything in my life was racing: my mechanics, my engineers, my team-mates, even my social environment.
“To put all that to zero in one fell swoop was a shock to my system. Then there was the addiction to recognition and success.
“I had never asked myself what other passions I had. There was always just the next race.
“As a world champion and driver I was at the top, but with these new projects you start at the bottom.
“That is interesting and instructive,” the German concluded.
