Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement just after winning the 2016 F1 championship shocked the world. It was absolutely difficult for everyone to believe that the Mercedes driver would take such a step after a grand victory.
It was not just the fans who were shocked at this decision. The news was a shocker even for Mercedes.
In an interview, Mercedes F1’s core group of members, Ron Meadows, Andrew Shovlin, Simon Cole, and James Vowles revealed that they too were taken aback at this decision.
“Toto called us into the office and we didn’t know what to expect. But if Toto asked us, ‘list 5 things I’m about to say,’ then Nico retiring wasn’t on that list. It was just a bizarre moment,” Meadows said.
Even though Rosberg retiring did not set Mercedes back, the fans certainly did not expect it.
The Silver Arrows still continued to dominate with Valtteri Bottas being the perfect foil for Hamilton.
The four of them disclosed, “It’s hard to work out why he just asked to be released from his contract.
“Even if he wasn’t going to beat Lewis again, he was in a good car, he’d be winning races, he’d be part of a team that was doing something amazing. But there must have been very personal reasons. He had obviously achieved what he had wanted to.”
Rosberg and Hamilton’s rivalry was something that the fans used to look forward to. But it is unfortunate that it lasted only for three years.
However, their rivalry continues outside F1 at the Extreme E championship. The first round has already been won by Rosberg making things interesting for the fans.
Do you think Rosberg will make a surprise comeback? Let us know in the comments below!