Champ

Executing the most memorable mic drop that racing has seen for years, Nico Rosberg retired five days after securing the F1 title. Dario tries to make sense of it

NICO ROSBERG, F1 WORLD CHAMPION. SOME sort of mistake, surely? His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was robbed of a fourth title by mechanical woes, and even won ten races to Rosberg’s nine. And then Nico retires! Rather a lot to fit into 850 words, this one…

The first question, though, is whether Rosberg deserved the title. The debate will smoulder for years to come, but it’s undeniable he did a great job. He earned it by delivering when it mattered and minimising his bad days; by being consistent. Who can forget Lewis in Singapore? Nico played to his strengths and mitigated his weaknesses. You cannot do any more. Indeed, he came of age this season, sucking up pressure and delivering some brilliant qualifying drives and flawless races.

Paradoxically, it was his weaknesses that proved him a worthy winner. At 31 he should be the finished product, but he still struggles when he tries to be overtly defensive or aggressive. He’s not an antagonistic, wheel-towheel driver by nature, and as a result often looks clumsy when circumstances demand this style. When a dogfight has been in the offing, Rosberg’s moves have been crude, and he was caught flat-footed several times – in Austria, for instance, when he made a meal of a fairly straightforward situation.

In light of this, his performance in the final race of this season was something of a masterclass. He didn’t win in Abu Dhabi, but he absorbed the pressure, stoically resisting Vettel during the closing laps after squeezing past Verstappen. Indeed, the pass on Verstappen was something special. Technically it was merely good, but the inescapable fact that Rosberg’s life ambition was at stake – and that it was Verstappen, of all people, who had to be dispatched, and promptly – made it a special move.

For drivers at this level, a switchback isn’t a difficult move. But when you’re at close quarters with an unpredictable rival and the title is on the line, the ability to operate precisely without making errors is certainly not a given. In the end Rosberg made the pass on Verstappen look easy, but post-race interviews revealed a man who’d managed to suppress a nauseating overload of pressure during the race and was now letting it pour out of him in the media paddock (though at this stage he knew something we didn’t).

The title wasn’t a done deal after that pass, either. By ruthlessly and calmly backing Rosberg into the clutches of Vettel (nothing at all wrong with that, by the way, we’d all have done it), Lewis put Nico in a position where his fragilities were further exposed – where he would have to overtake his faster teammate or fend off a quadruple champion – and yet he didn’t crumble. It was impressive.

Reliability? Well, since Lewis arrived at Mercedes, he’s had four non-scoring races because of mechanical problems to Nico’s eight. These things do have a way of evening out, and while doubts will remain for some, it’s worth remembering that history is littered with cases where the fastest guy didn’t win.

Indeed, F1 is a massively complex team sport with hundreds of people designing, building and operating these incredible machines. So many races, so many moving parts, so many uncertainties. And so much of it out of the driver’s control. To end the season with most points, an endless list of things have to go right for a driver. If they do, that should settle it. And let’s not forget the resilience Rosberg demonstrated after two years as runner-up – and by not a lot in 2014, where his season ended in KERS failure and Hamilton cruised to the chequered flag.

As for his shock retirement, Nico has always come across as an unemotional, pragmatic man. This decision exemplifies that, and I’ve never seen him so relaxed as he was at the Autosport Awards event in London in December. At the end of the night, when everyone usually filters out, he was wandering around, chatting. No security or PR handlers. Superb to see, and someone clearly at peace, for now.

As a new father, I somewhat understand his wish to walk away from the danger, the politics and the BS to spend more time at home. However, as a driver I struggle to comprehend how he could give up a seat in the best racing car in the world, especially while he’s at the top of his game. For me, after one championship I wanted two, after two I wanted three, and so on. Is it something to do with the way he was brought up? The perceived silver spoon? I’m not sure, and I believe that before anyone makes such a sweeping statement, they should walk in his shoes a wee bit first.

However, for such a rational man, it seems a knee-jerk, emotional reaction. I hope he doesn’t regret it, because he’s a class act.

‘ Lewis put Nico in a position where his weaknesses were exposed, and yet he didn’t crumble’