Nico Rosberg shares why so many people were ‘disappointed’ with how he decided to retire from Formula 1

Follow us on Google Discover

It has been nearly 10 years since Nico Rosberg dropped a retirement bombshell on the Formula 1 paddock, shortly after winning his first title.

At the time, he had just finally beaten Lewis Hamilton and was on top of the world. A few days later, he walked away from it all.

Mercedes had to find a replacement for the following season, as they had lost the man who had led them to the drivers’ championship and been with the team for seven seasons.

A few years later, Rosberg turned to working on TV, and fans love to see his insight into his career alongside Hamilton.

Rosberg was wrong about Oscar Piastri in 2025 and felt as though his calmness was a real strength, but it got the better of him after the summer break.

Rosberg was once convinced his mechanics wanted him to lose, so ex-boss Toto Wolff initiated a swap to ensure fairness. It might have transformed his 2016 title charge.

READ MORE: Nico Rosberg once revealed how he ‘messed’ with Lewis Hamilton’s head amid tense F1 title battle

Nico Rosberg says fans were ‘disappointed’ he retired from Formula 1 while fighting Lewis Hamilton

Wolff ‘regrets’ how he handled Mercedes in 2016 and thinks that he could have done a better job of restricting conflict within his team.

Rosberg was ‘scared’ battling Hamilton, recalls not wanting to lose the championship so badly – a similar position to what Piastri was in this year.

Eventually, he got across the line and celebrated in some style by doing doughnuts on the Abu Dhabi pit straight.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Rosberg mentioned how fans were ‘disappointed’ with him for bowing out while at the top of his game.

“Everybody does it his own way,” he said. “For me, it just felt like I was at the top, and I wanted to go out on the top, and it just felt like a beautiful moment to do so, after a long career.

“For me personally, that was really the right thing. I know a lot of people were disappointed because it was such a great battle at the time.”

READ MORE: The moment Nico Rosberg ‘realised’ he couldn’t let Lewis Hamilton push him around at Mercedes

How Nico Rosberg managed the 2016 Formula 1 season perfectly

Looking back on the 2016 Formula 1 season, Rosberg managed it almost perfectly, opening the year in blitzing form, and having enough in the tank (just about) to win it all at the last race.

The German driver finished second in each of the last four races, but Hamilton couldn’t do anything about it.

He tried to back him into the pack in Abu Dhabi, but the deal had already been sealed. Rosberg had set himself up well for success.

Rosberg says Hamilton excels at ‘lobbying’ team management, but he couldn’t do so well enough in 2016. That was his year, and will be forever.