[WraithApe]

  If Merc were to dominate next year also, we need two competitive drivers. Not sure Wehrlein is ready, he was not so strong against Ocon and Haryanto

 
Yeah, Ocon I would agree with - tough call there, but really, he was better than Haryanto all ends up. In all races for 2016 where neither driver retired, in terms of who finished ahead, Wehrlein's record against Haryanto was 8-0. With Ocon, it was 3-3 (where neither retired.)

 

[MuZo2]

   
 Wehrlein's record against Haryanto was 8-0. With Ocon, it was 3-3 (where neither retired.)

What about single lap qualifying ? We have to see why FI didnt pick him up?

 

[WraithApe]

  What about single lap qualifying ? We have to see why FI didnt pick him up?

 
Closer. 7-5 in Wehrlein's favour. That's arguably academic though - if a driver can't translate a qualifying win (over his teammate) into a race day win, then how much is his single lap qualifying ability really worth?

 

[Hutnicks]

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10680270/nico-rosberg-retires-martin-brundle-and-ted-kravitz-in-shock-after-world-champions-f1-exit
 
In a nutshell (or nutcase ) why Skysports should have F1 coverage ripped from their monumentally incompetent clutches.
 
Here's my take on the whole issue. No secret Nico is not my favourite driver That has no bearing on my take on him as a human being. In fact what in my estimation made him a poor contender in F1 actually speaks well to what I most likely believe to be who he is out of the seat. He's smart educated and well spoken with an ability to not ruffle folk not in his income bracket. Multilingual and cosmopolitan in upbringing he can now do just about anything outside of F1 or motorsport in general.
 
 There's the clue. He doesn't actually need F1.
 
This year showed him what it takes to be the WDC and I sincerely believe that when he explored that and found that you need to essentially become a psychopath to do it, that personality was not one he cared to incubate. The educational process took him to a conclusion he really did not like, while giving him I suspect the massive insight into what the difference between him and the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Schumacher  or Alonso live like. The only reason to hang about in F1 for him would be to foster that persona and attempt to be a multiple WDC winner. I don't blame him one bit for reaching the summit and seeing the peer group there is not the folk you want to invite over for Christmas eve drinks. He has made a simply brilliant intellectual decision and is one of the very few to do it at the precise right moment in history. For a week now we have heard nothing but how Hamilton lost the championship and SFA about how Rosberg won it,  with this move Nico has fulfilled his goal, lightened his burden and put a huge exclamation mark at the end of the sentence. Well played sir.
 
NICO ROSBERG (ret) WDC 2016!
 
All the best for future endeavours.
 
PS. He also get's to beat Hamilton once again as he is free to write the first book on the Merc WC years

 

[Muinarc]

Sounds legit. He's not the first athlete to up and quit when they've attained the final goal either. I'd imagine the lifestyle takes it's toll after 20+ years of racing nearly every weekend coming up through the ranks. Just like the many musicians that hit it big and realize they never wanted to be famous (Kurt Cobain), that lifestyle in perpetuity isn't going to be for everyone, especially a newlywed that wants to maybe start a family.

 

[MuZo2]

Not sure if its becoming a trend here. People around me are doing same, some have taken paycuts, some work 60-70%. They don't like traveling between cities & countries, absolutely hate traveling between continents. They don't care much about money, spend more quality time with family & friends.

 

[Hutnicks]

....meanwhile an ever so self absorbed motoring press begins to consume itself with wild allegations, self quotes attributed to team principals and outright yellow journalism, as the incomprehensibility of someone actually departing the microcosm of F1 for greener pastures and a new life tears through them like a mechanical version of Mad Cow disease.
 
They obviously had a big issue reading Hamiltons tweet outlining in so few words how goals had been achieved.
 
 This is even better than I thought possible. For all Bernies whohawing about shaking things up and making them more interesting, it took an unlikely underdog of a WDC to toss a spanner into the works and cause complete chaos by selecting the "None of the Above" option on the Formula 1 a levels.
 
 I wonder what the new powers that be are going to make of this one?
 
Excellent Nico. Who would have thought Hesse would have been a better career inspiration than Clausewitz for an F1 driver

 

[SP Wild]

HAHHAHA!

Nico Rosberg has just become my favorite F1 driver of all time.

What a sick ****...

 

[gr8soundz]

Days later, I still can't believe this news.
 
Nico leaving so quickly makes me wonder what kind of driver he really is. Was he really a racer/competitor or was he just waiting to win for once? Sounds like he wasn't ready for the emotional toll it takes to be world champ (as stated by drivers like Damon Hill).
 
Bernie has repeatedly said he preferred Lewis as champion because of all the promotion F1 got from Hamilton's off-track activities. Now the current champ won't even be in the sport next year.
 

 

[Hutnicks]

From Motorsport.
 

"What annoys me the most is that now Nico is telling us that he would have continued had he not won the world championship," Lauda was quoted as saying in the Sunday edition of Germany's Die Welt broadsheet.
"This is something he could have at least hinted at when he signed his contract. In this case, we could have prepared a Plan B – we would have had to in order to be ready. But it is as it is.
 

 
Ok Laudanum, you wanna explain that a little more?  What would Plan B have been given the seesaw battle for the WDC this year? Or would Plan B actually been to have him NOT win the WDC

 
I really want to see who gets this seat as it has potential to cause huge mayhem in the paddock. The one I would not like to see is the Bottas option as it would be effectively the death blow for Williams. Unless they got enough for him to run the team for a year but I doubt that would happen as the Wolff factor comes into play.

 

[WraithApe]

 
I really want to see who gets this seat as it has potential to cause huge mayhem in the paddock. The one I would not like to see is the Bottas option as it would be effectively the death blow for Williams. Unless they got enough for him to run the team for a year but I doubt that would happen as the Wolff factor comes into play.

 
Wehrlein is odds on favourite according to most bookies I think, but Bottas or Alonso seem to be second in the running, depending on whose site you look at.

 

[MuZo2]

Seems Toto would like no1 & no2 driver. So I guess no big names but also not Wherlin or Ocon.

 

[Hutnicks]

Price performance wise the smart move would be Perez.
 
Then again who knows what infant floating around in the lesser formulae has attracted Merc's attention. Could well be a huge surprise.
 
 
Still I cannot get the nagging Vettel vibe out of my head though.

 

[MuZo2]

Maybe Bottas, he is managed by Toto. I guess he will get a chance, for Williams that would be big blow with two new drivers, same for FI if they let Perez go.

 

[Hutnicks]

Now after Nico doing a runner and in Lieu of the news of Hammers threat to quit after Spain.
 
Dobby Lowe now maintains that no disciplinary action was considered after the season finale. Claiming "others" pressured him into the radio messages.
 
Hmmm. So just what is it about the most desirable team in F1 that has pilotes ready to bolt at the first opportunity?
 
 
And the Teflonso rumours persist. Sure sign if he goes there that the car will be a complete dog for '17