Nico Rosberg takes the cover for The National's Sport section on Saturday, December 3, after his shocking retirement announcement.
In taking stock of the news, Graham Caygill writes the newly-crowned Formula One world champion's weariness was evident after last Sunday's Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He also notes that with Rosberg riding off into the sunset, an unexpected opening at Mercedes-GP could belong to Pascal Wehrlein:
“In hindsight, the news of Rosberg’s shock move, just days after he had won his first drivers’ title, was not as surprising as it may seem to be.
“The German’s emotional performance in his news conference at Yas Marina Circuit, after he had finished second in the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to beat Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton to the championship by five points, hinted at the mental pressure that he had been under.
As for Rosberg’s young compatriot, Caygill writes:
“Despite scoring a point for the team that finished last in the constructors’ standings in Austria, their only scoring effort of 2016, it was not clear-cut that he would still be on the grid in 2017.
”Suddenly things have changed dramatically for Wehrlein.”
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