Nico Rosberg retires

[campbell]

has realised that he is missing out on raising his daughter by jetting all over the world and training etc..?

I don't buy that..

there are only 21 weekends of work + some testing a year, I bet he has more free time at home than your average working man.

he's only 31..............

Do you have children, Simon?

[Scuffers]

has realised that he is missing out on raising his daughter by jetting all over the world and training etc..?

I don't buy that..

there are only 21 weekends of work + some testing a year, I bet he has more free time at home than your average working man.

he's only 31..............

Do you have children, Simon?

Not any more, no.

[ryallm]

Rosberg knows he has peaked, one less failure in qualifying and Hamilton would have won, without the Malaysia failure it would have been a breeze.

Calculated decision, a shock at first but sensible, he'll be able to dine out on this far more this way.

Keep reading comments about how Hamilton would have would won the championship without that engine failure. Well, perhaps true, but he also would have won if he hadn't taken his foot off the gas at the end of last year and the start of this year when Rosberg drove brilliantly to win 6 races on the trot, so it ain't just luck. And in any case luck always comes into it. According to this article http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24181/ ... his-season Rosberg has actually suffered twice the number of mechanical retirements in the 4 years he has raced against Hamilton at Mercedes. Hamilton would not have won his first title if Massa hadn't suffered an engine failure while in the lead of a race earlier in the year. Kimi would undoubtedly have won at least 1 and possibly 2 world championships at McLaren if reliability hadn't constantly let him down. It is just the way motorsport is.

[campbell]

I don't buy that..

there are only 21 weekends of work + some testing a year, I bet he has more free time at home than your average working man.

he's only 31..............

Do you have children, Simon?

Not any more, no.

So combined with any working-away experiences you may have, can probably appreciate that it might take its toll on family life.

For those that do not care, and "farm out" their kids & responsibilities, an F1 type life may be swell. But I fully support Nico (whom I don't like very much actually) for putting his family first.

If on average he leaves home on a Wednesday, or even a Thursday, and returns on a Monday, and must keep training and meeting "sponsor commitments" in between, then over a 21 race season he and his family actually probably have precious little time.

He's made his money, it'll be invested well, and he can now take time to choose a next career move. Pole position, I'd say.

Now. WHO gets the seat in the spare Merc?!?!

[tut]

Keep checking my e-mail, but nothing so far.

tut

[j2 lot]

They're going for younger drivers Tut, not older

[hendeg]

I think you'd be in with a shout tut. If only you didn't stop to collect the mirrors every time there was a coming together.

[Dominic]

I think you'd be in with a shout tut. If only you didn't stop to collect the mirrors every time there was a coming together.

[tut]

Mercedes are thinking about signing McLaren driver Fernando Alonso to replace Nico Rosberg, team boss Toto Wolff says.

tut

[campbell]

lol

Would leave Maclaren in a sorrier mess than they already are.

But read this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38185491

And this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38219533

[campbell]

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/12 ... -brackley/

[ScottJ-PS]

Bottas appears to be the obvious choice and the "safe" bet, for 12 months anyway, then Merc can review long term .

[campbell]

Yup. Would like to see him in strong hardware. When the Williams was on song, he showed real pace I felt.

And he's a nice fellow. Which helps.

[Corranga]

Joe says that Grosjean is the only one with a top team buy out clause, I wouldn't think it'd be too out there to presume Alonso also has one - depending on when he signed his contract I guess, or perhaps a performance related one. Though I don't think any of us expect McLaren to e as poor as they have been for this long, so perhaps not?

Bottas would be an ok choice, but is he faster than Rosberg?

My point of view, as a fan of the sport, is that we want someone in there who can give Hamilton some good competition. A snore fest Hamilton dominant year in 2017 isn't good for F1...

[jason]

I would expect Alonso, and others, to have buy out classes based on performance criteria or whatever.

I cannot see Wolff buying Bottas unless there is a VERY suitable experienced replacement to shoehorn in to Wiliams as team mate to Stroll (Werhlein does not tick that box). Otherwise he'd be leaving Williams up sh*t creek IMHO, which he won't want to do. And is Bottas actually worth paying Williams the anticipated sum for, over a freely available driver?

The bad news for us, the fans, is the possible outcome is a lesser team mate for Hamilton than Rosberg was. So if the 2017 rules Merc is still in a league of its own it could to be as numbingly dull as a couple of the Schumacher/Ferrari and Vettel/Red Bull seasons...

It's a bit of a mess!