Nico Rosberg informed Toto Wolff of his decision to retire from Formula One on Wednesday following his world championship victory.
Rosberg made the shock announcement that he will retire from F1 with immediate effect at the FIA Prize Giving in Vienna on Friday. Wolff says the decision came as a complete surprise to Mercedes and was informed as they celebrated his title earlier this week.
“It was a very difficult moment," Wolff said. "We spent some time together in Abu Dhabi, we’ve been in Malaysia and it was pretty emotional with such a big crowd chanting for Nico.
"Then we hopped on a flight from KL to Singapore and then from Singapore to Frankfurt and then we had some emotional discussions and he was so clear by what he said that it was no doubt in his decision. It’s very difficult for me personally.”
Asked about the specific moment, Wolff says he got a call from Rosberg shortly after leaving him.
“The moment I left the long in the morning to jump on the plane to Stuttgart and Nico was going to Wiesbaden he called me. I said ‘I’m coming back’ and he said ‘Don’t come back’.
“We’ve known each other for a long time and one thing I admire about Nico is his clarity of thinking, it’s black and white. You could argue after three days of partying you need to become sober to make a decision, but that’s not the case with Nico … from the first second he told me there was no doubt, this was his decision and that was it.”
Asked what legacy Rosberg leaves the team, Wolff replied: “A huge legacy.
"First of all the way he’s decided to leave Formula One is something that is unheard of and it’s something we all admire in a certain way, to call it a day when you’re at the top.”
Rosberg himself added having to tell Wolff of his decision was the hardest part.
“I couldn’t tell him in person," Rosberg said. "I had to call him just after we parted because it was too intense.”
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