Here are some photos from Abu Dhabi, by Paul Ripke.
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Joe Saward writes about F1 and the world
Here are some photos from Abu Dhabi, by Paul Ripke.
joeblogsf1 
What an adorable little girl: don’t blame Nico one bit.
On German TV they are reporting that Rosberg was asked by his wife to retire because they are now parents.
That seems most likely
Photos 1, 3 and 4 are lovely. Good luck to that man
Rob
The last two photos tell the whole story!
+ 1 ( that’s what I just said and shared to my surprised companheira .)
Indeed – seems to say it all doesn’t it? We will have to wait for Nico’s “autobiography” to see if Nico wishes to divulge the psychology behind his decision. I did detect a change in Nico’s demeanour this year after the birth of his child, when he increasingly referred to the pleasure of his family life. I reckon he just does not want another year of the seemingly controlling atmosphere of the Mercedes F1 team and has taken his sensible top of the game decision for the sake of his own sanity and the welfare of his family. BW Nico!
That’s a great photo of Nico and Keke. Helps to put everything in perspective and remind us of the human side of sport
Every picture tells a story ! You have a lovely family Nico it’s a perfect time to retire ..
I love that photo of Nico and Keke… it communicates so much love.
I always felt that Nico carried such a burden of expectations with him because of Keke’s success. But, then he got married and became a father, and he seemed to become a much more mature guy — less single-minded, but still focussed. And, now, he’s made the ultimate smart move: go out on top, be financially secure from all those years of racing, and enjoy life with his obviously loving family.
I admire him & respect his decision.
I appreciate I cannot from a distance be right all the time but over my many years when comparing individuals I have often thought to myself who would I prefer to be friends with, trust and have at my side in a tricky situation.
As regards Mercedes F1 drivers; for me Nico wins hands down.
Should you be in contact with him please pass on my British best wishes to him and his family/true friends for the future.
I hope, but also feel fairly sure, that there are lots of other people who can appreciate what he has achieved and give respect where it is due.
PS Bernie will probably not be happy with no F1 world champion around to do his bidding next year!
Joe, This is an amazing post. Each picture tells a story. Thanks for sharing this.
– A very happy GP+ subscriber
I find photo number 2 most telling. Their driver has just won the world championship, but Lewis’ presence seemingly brings everyone’s guard back up and causes smiles to melt away. I wonder what the last three years of infighting has done to Mercedes?
F1. Never dull if you know where to look.
Wow. That’s a lot to take in from a single photograph, especially when there’s no audio or even a caption to tell us what was being talked about. Or even when the picture was taken.
Wonderful photos. If the cars were two seaters maybe Keke could have made a comeback.
Told you he was a good driver and now he’s got my respect as a parent.
The photos of Nico with his wife and daughter and with his Dad, really flag up his decision. I’d say in particular the one with Keke. There’s something in the bodylanguage there that tells one that the lad has reached the end of his dream…while the one with his family says it all about where he wants to be now. Top man, gentleman, racer, intelligent, charming, and a fierce determination to get his life’s ambition completed. Great story, and ought to be one for Ron Howard to take to the cinemas!
Beautiful pictures, and a reminder of Nico’s humanity. Somehow I have even more respect for him as a person than I had yesterday.
Good luck, Nico.
So the better man and the better driver retires .. leaving AMG Mercedes with their little publicity pet of colour Will iLewis and no one else to fill the other seat . Yeah Joe . Lets all hear it for Hamilton . The ‘ Trump ‘ [ as in completely amoral with zero ethics and even less character who somehow is able to suspend reality when it comes to his actions and wrong doings ] of Formula One .
As for Roseberg .. I wondered how much longer he and his father would put up with AMG Mercedes and the F1 major domo’s showing constant and consitent blatant favoritism for Will iLewis in the vain hope of diversifying the face of F1 . A tactic I might add that has failed miserably . And now that Nico’s got his championship despite having a ( censored ) for a team mate … he’s telling everyone in his own way which finger he’s holding up .Seriously . I don’t blame Nico one damn bit . In fact I congratulate him
So two thumbs up to Nico Rosberg ! May your days be happy and completely Lewis free . Now if only we could get our little ‘ trump ‘ out of our lives as well . As for me ? Say bye bye to the last of my hard earned you’ll ever see F1 . Sorry Joe ole bean .. you do a great job .. but after 50 years of watching F1 finally consume itself .. I’m done as well .
Practice random acts of civil disobedience ;
GS .. aka Hardley T Whipsnade III
Does that mean you’ll stop posting comments?
I hope so, Joe. Won’t miss him one bit.
I certainly hope so.
Why not random acts of kindness guitar man? That would probably serve you better.
You really are an odious little racist. Try crawling back under your rock.
I presume this was not directed at me…
Of course not Joe!
Suggest you sling your guitar and follow it!
Fab Pictures.
Love the last photo. I wish Nico and his family all the best. He achieved what he wanted out of his career and left on a high. How many men can say that in their lives?
Great pictures, so much love and happiness in the last two, a lovely antidote to all the acrimony in the world these days. Congrats Nico, both on the championship and the decision. So long and thanks for all the Awesome. The pictures make the decision understandable and maybe communicate that Nico is a slightly different beast than most other drivers whose maniacal focus means that they seem to exist only for racing (and maybe a media career afterwards, but many keep racing long after their “retirement”). It seemed to me Michael had quite a bit of difficulty to adjust to life after F1, so much that he un-retired (and I truly hope he recovers from what happened after the second retirement). Alonso threatens retirement, but because he doesn’t enjoy the racing anymore – and probably to heap some more pressure on Honda – strongly hinting that endurance racing will be the next step. Jenson has stopped seemingly voluntarily, but he gets his kicks out of his triathlons as well. It seems that it’s rarely an entirely voluntary decision for a driver to retire (as it was with both Michael’s retirements).
Off the top of my head, Nico’s replacement would most probably be Bottas, but Mercedes has the luxury of waiting for the very best driver they can plonk into the car come the tests or even Melbourne. It might be a while before we find out. Maybe they’ll want Kimi…
Joe, these are wonderful. Thanks for sharing
Before this I had an impression of Rosberg a beaten man even when he won always seeing the world tilting in Lewis’ direction. But making the decision now to retire shows what great strength he does have that I couldn’t see. The picture of him with his father is very moving – it’s nice to see a man in F1 full of love instead of Team/sponsor/corporate – It actually makes all of F1 feel better. Come on Drivers show us your souls and your passion maybe more people will fall back in love our sport and I can only think the drivers and teams would get more out of it too.
Thanks Jo best piece about RB retirement – and it didn’t even have any words!
Sometimes you dont need words….