Rosberg glad not to be racing in 'scary' F1 any more

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Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg admits that he's happy not to be racing any more, and that he certainly had no plans on making a return to the cockpit in the future.

"I have to confess, there are moments when I'm watching and I think, 'It's good I'm not in that car'," he told ZDF reporter Katja Streso on German television this week.

"In Baku for example - when they race through the streets of a city at a speed of 360kph, millimetres away from a wall," he continued.

"Unlike the other drivers, I am not a real daredevil," he insisted. "Yes, there are moments when I was scared."

Rosberg on a joyride with McLaren Senna (Video)

Rosberg shocked the world of motorsport when he announced his retirement from racing just five days after beating Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 title. He admitted that it had been a big adjustment at first.

"Back then, when I decided to leave the sport, I had no idea what it would feel like in two or three months or a year," he said.

"It was a complete stop - something fundamental in my life was suddenly gone," he acknowledged. "Luckily I had my family and other passions. I quickly found a new way for me. It was the best decision.

"I don't miss it at all, and for me that's a big thing."

Although he's no longer driving competitively, Rosberg hasn't been far from the Grand Prix paddock having taken a pundit role with broadcasters including Sky Sports F1.

The 33-year-old has also become involved in the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E championship as an investor in the series. He was one of the first drivers to get behind the wheel of the new Gen2 car in an exhibition ride at last year's German ePrix.

Since leaving Formula 1, Rosberg has seen Hamilton go on to clinch two more championships. The pair had a notoriously stormy relationship as team mates at Brackley until the German's decision to step down.

Rosberg was succeeded at Mercedes by Valtteri Bottas, and recently came out in support of the Finn's performance which came under heavy criticism in 2018.

"Valtteri is a lot better than he's been able to show recently," he insisted. "Last year he had a lot of bad luck.

"If the luck is on his side and he starts well, [this year] could be a whole different situation."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.