Nico Rosberg reveals when and why he decided on shock F1 retirement

Nico Rosberg made one of the all-time most memorable exits from Formula 1, retiring shortly after winning the 2016 World Championship.

Rosberg was quizzed on that shock decision almost a decade on by Martin Brundle. Rosberg revealed that he “wanted to go out on the top”, and as soon as he crossed the line to beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to the crown, he knew that his F1 career was over.

Nico Rosberg found ‘beautiful moment’ to retire from Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg produced a storied F1 teammate rivalry. Hamilton had won the 2014 and 2015 crowns, but the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix produced a new World Champion.

Try as he might to back Rosberg into the clutches of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, Hamilton was unable to keep his grip on the championship trophy, which went Rosberg’s way.

A week later, Rosberg shockingly announced his immediate retirement from Formula 1. It also proved to be the end of his racing career.

At the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP, Rosberg was on Sky F1 duties. His colleague Brundle looked for answers.

“Something, if I may ask you, but in full respect, you won your World Championship, then on your way home, you decided to retire…”

Rosberg interjected to clarify when his decision was actually made.

“No, that was on the start/finish line already.”

Brundle responded: “So literally, you won the title, you go, ‘That’s the end of the story.’ Because the pressure? Why?”

Rosberg had seen the opening to end his career in the manner he desired, so took it.

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“Everybody does it his own way,” he said. “For me, it just felt like I was at the very 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. So 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.”

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A first-time World Champion was also crowned in Abu Dhabi 2025, as Lando Norris secured the podium result he needed to reach the F1 summit. Verstappen ultimately fell two points short, with Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri ending the season third.

Rosberg was quick to stress that Norris was not about to take a page out of his book.

“But anyway, in the case of Lando, I’m sure he’s not even thinking about a scenario like that, and he still thinks he has many more great years to come,” said Rosberg.

“He’s, of course, also younger than I was at the time. So everybody does it his own way, you know.”

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