Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg retires

Nico Rosberg has stunned Formula One with the announcement that he is retiring, only days after winning his first world championship with Mercedes.

Rosberg, 31, won his first Formula One crown on Sunday, November 27, after finishing second in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the UAE which was won by Lewis Hamilton, his Mercedes team-mate.

“From the moment when the destiny of the title was in my own hands, the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became world champion,” Rosberg, a German, said in a statement on Facebook on Friday.

“On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start. I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time.

“I took my decision on Monday evening.”

Rosberg, son of 1982 title winner Keke Rosberg, is only the second son of a world champion, after Britain’s Damon Hill, to take the crown.