VIENNA: Newly crowned Formula One champion Nico Rosberg has insisted he will “quite definitely not” change his mind and return to the sport after announcing his shock retirement from driving. “When I was six years old and started out, the dream was very clear:I wanted to become Formula One world champion and that’s what I pursued all along and it’s mission accomplished for me, I’ve done it,” Rosberg said late Friday upon collecting his championship trophy in Vienna.
“It’s a dream come true and now it’s on to other things, with family first.” Rosberg secured his first - and now only - title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last Sunday by finishing second behind Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. He took the championship from Hamilton by five points. “I never give up, so if I’d finished second I would have gone for another year, for sure,” Rosberg said. Rosberg’s contract with Mercedes was due to run to 2018 and the team must now quickly find a replacement to partner Hamilton for the 2017campaign which begins late March in Australia. — DPA
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