Rosberg’s Shock F1 Retirement Was “Expected” – Lewis Hamilton

Following the 2016 F1 season, Mercedes hosted a press conference in Vienna, where Nico Rosberg surprisingly announced his retirement from the sport. It initially looked like his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, was rather displeased by the announcement.

Such speculations arose after Hamilton arrived for the press conference much later than Rosberg. So, was Hamilton unhappy that he couldn’t get his redemption on the German over the subsequent season?

Well, the answer is no. The seven-time world champion clarified that none of such assumptions are actually true, putting an end to the train of stories.

What did Lewis Hamilton say?

During the Monaco Grand Prix press conference, Hamilton revealed that he has shared enough wins with Rosberg since their childhood days. Hence, he felt that losing a championship battle against the German wasn’t a deal-breaker.

“Not at all. That’s an assumption and I don’t like it when… I think any of us shouldn’t jump to assumptions,” the Mercedes driver said.

“Honestly, I don’t really, I think I was told way ahead of perhaps you would have found out. I’ve been racing Nico since I was 13. There’d been plenty of wins. So, I never ever felt that… I didn’t feel any negativity to it.”

Rosberg waited over a decade for the title, and the moment he got his hands on one, the retirement announcement followed. Not only did Nico manage to end his career on a high, but he also finally shifted his entire focus on family after devoting 18 years to racing.

It was expected: Hamilton

The Mercedes star driver reckoned that he was anticipating the retirement announcement from Rosberg following the latter’s championship win under the lights in Abu Dhabi.

“He has to make his own decisions. To be honest, for me, it was expected, and so moved on,” he said.

Hamilton was only getting better every season, denting Rosberg’s chances of claiming a title since their F1 union at Mercedes.

However, in 2016, while Rosberg enjoyed a strong finish to the season, there was his teammate, who constantly suffered reliability issues, which ultimately halted his hopes of beating Rosberg.

And now, after five years, Hamilton has wound up in another rivalry, only this time, it is with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

The two in-form drivers have portrayed a handful of nail-biting moments through the initial four races. Hence, with 19 more to go, the rivalry is all set to get exciting. But who is going to come ahead by the end of this season?

Read More: Hamilton – Verstappen F1 Rivalry Tipped to Replicate Lewis v Rosberg Feud