Bye Nico

[glasgowcyclist]

Nico Rosberg has announced he's retiring from F1 with immediate effect.

It's the last thing I (and apparently Mercedes) expected but I say good on him. He has a young family to think about and he's achieved his goal in motor racing so why carry on with the risks?

Shall we run a poll to see who's likely to get his seat next year?

 

[Dayvo]

That was a shot out of the dark! But I suppose if he achieved a lifetime's ambition it would be difficult to be motivated and carry on.

By all accounts he speaks five major languages fluently, so he'll have no trouble getting a job anywhere, should he need to top up his savings.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Brace bold decision.

Can we have Fernando back to open another can of whoopass on Lewis please?

There's a few drivers I'd like to see in that seat but let's not forget that NR did push Lewis really hard.
I guess the most exciting prospect would be to put Verstappen in the car and see how LH reacts to that (both on track and off). That could be a real spectacle.

 

[TVC]

Top man.

I had a discussion with a workmate a few days ago as to why anyone would want to drive in F1. You are owned by the team 24/7, the media scrutiny is oppresive, it is impossible to enjoy life and the actual racing (the bit to be enjoyed) is ultimately dull and controlled by the men with the stopwatches.

I hope he finds an area of motorsport where he can express himself and have fun racing.

 

[Drago]

Fair play to him. He's reached the pinnacle and earned a shedload of cash. Best of all he's done it with dignity, followed his employers orders when given them, and in the main kept the sour words to himself when things didn't go his way. A refreshing change to the Fresh Prince of Hot Air.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Top trolling of Hamilton though

 

[Jody]

It'l never happen but I would love to see Alonso move to Merc. Now that would be some great telly and racing

 

[ianrauk]

Strange decision. But I suppose he realises that Hamilton is a far better driver then him. And a couple of others too. Methinks he will be back.

 

[Drago]

With the major chassis and aero and rule changes for next season there'd quite likely be no benefit to Alonso going there, except perhaps to his wallet.

 

[marinyork]

Not really so much of a surprise to me. The modern drivers need insane physical fitness but I think it is easy to forget a lot of these guys' motivations and dreams when the last ten years there have been a lot of hangers on that have driven for far too many years (Button, Webber, Barrichello) or people who've done it and missed it too much and want to come back (not just talking Schumacher). It's clear that several others stayed too long with the corporate circus as velvet curtain said.

I would have thought his father might have had influence on this. His father Keke Rosberg won his world championship in 1982 at a roughly similar age and then carried on driving till the end of 1986 and retired aged 37. Keke Rosberg's legacy in F1 was very much soured by his carrying on for four more years, he's basically seen as a fast guy who got lucky in 1982 (a horrific and bizarre season) who basically carried on too long and shown to be a crap driver compared to the ones he drove against after he was champion. Keke also had Nico about a year before he retired, same as Nico having a daughter the year before.

 

[Jody]

With the major chassis and aero and rule changes for next season there'd quite likely be no benefit to Alonso going there, except perhaps to his wallet.

They would still have the most powerfull engine on the grid and a jump start on development this year. They may not run away with the title but will still be up there.

 

[Drago]

That would be true only if engine development froze today.

But it won't. There's now 4 months of development ahead for all teams, so we can only speculate where they will be relative to the other teams. Then the token system for jn season development is greatly relaxed, and history has shown us that major changes to the technical regulations usually breaks a dominant teams reign...Ferrari, Red Bull....

And Mercedes will be starting chassis development from scratch without Kingmaker Newey.

 

[Jody]

And Mercedes will be starting chassis development from scratch without Kingmaker Newey.

Errrr...... He works for Redbull

 

[Aperitif]

Nico Rosberg has announced he's retiring from F1 with immediate effect.

It's the last thing I (and apparently Mercedes) expected but I say good on him. He has a young family to think about and he's achieved his goal in motor racing so why carry on with the risks?

Shall we run a poll to see who's likely to get his seat next year?

 

[Drago]

Yes, that's the secret chassis weapon Mercedes don't have the benefit of. Even if Mercedes did have the most powerful engine, Newey has shown time and again that an efficient aero package with a slightly less powerful motor still delivers better lap times.