2016 Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg's decision to retire is a surprise, there's no doubt about it. However, it's almost certainly the right one. So why was it made?
Lewis Hamilton
Nico won nine races to Lewis' ten this season. Lewis' engine failure in Malaysia could easily be pointed to as the reason Nico won the Championship. As a result, this season will always have a whiff of 'what if?' Nico will always know that he is a great racing driver and World Champion, but his race to race ability is not quite at the level Hamilton runs at. To try and beat Lewis again would probably be a fool's errand, especially with the rule changes next year that will most likely favour a man who's sole purpose is speed. Lewis will always have the edge and I'm sure that Nico does not want to go through next year with the added pressure of retaining his Championship as well as beating his teammate.
Family
In his statement, Nico mentioned how much pressure he had put on his young family this year. He has a small child and he had, effectively, asked his wife to look after their daughter for the entire year as he chased down what seemed to be an impossible dream. He has extra incentive to step back now. He knows that he has made more than enough money to live a comfortable life without Formula One and now he has the chance to concentrate on his wife and daughter, to be a husband and father. As classy as he always has been, he views that as a higher calling than anything else could be. He has asked so much of his family he is now in a position to give it back and then some.
World Champion
"Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without one, you'll never be enough with one." Words immortalised by John Candy in Cool Runnings. Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton. The World Champions who have never looked like they're enough with just the one (or two/four/three respectively). You can argue that it adds to the hunger of the racing driver but you can also argue that it's a bit pathetic. Rosberg now has one Championship. He was complete beforehand so he has hit the pinnacle of all he has ever know. To retire and leave may look like giving up the fight but he will leave knowing that he was the best racing driver on the planet at the point he called time on his career.
Nico Rosberg will be sorely missed in the paddock, mainly by his own engineers who regularly praise how technically brilliant he is and how excellent his feedback can be. The sport will be poorer for losing Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Rosberg in one year but with new, young, fresh racing drivers like Max Verstappen stepping into the gaps, next season will be one to watch!
