Formula One champ Nico Rosberg hits back at Niki Lauda’s retirement comments - Hindustan Times
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Formula One champ Nico Rosberg hits back at Niki Lauda’s retirement comments

ByANI, Melbourne
Dec 09, 2016 03:38 PM IST

Formula One champion Nico Rosberg issued a stinging rebuke to Niki Lauda after the Mercedes boss slammed the driver for leaving the team in the lurch by announcing a sudden retirement from the sport. Lauda said that the German driver left Mercedes looking “dumb”, bidding adieu to F1 with immediate effect, barely a week after winning his maiden world title.

Formula One champion Nico Rosberg issued a stinging rebuke to Niki Lauda after the Mercedes boss slammed the driver for leaving the team in the lurch by announcing a sudden retirement from the sport.

Lauda talks and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes F1 team in the paddock during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.(Getty Images)
Lauda talks and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes F1 team in the paddock during the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix.(Getty Images)

Niki Lauda said that the German driver left Mercedes looking “dumb”, bidding adieu to F1 with immediate effect, barely a week after winning his maiden world title.

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“We all gave him the opportunity to become world champion in a fantastic car -- and then he tells us he wants to retire.This has created a huge hole in this great working team. And we’re left looking dumb,” Lauda had said.

Lauda insisted that had Nico Rosberg hinted to them about his retirement earlier, they could have prepared a Plan B.

“What annoys me the most is that now Nico is telling us that he would have continued had he not won the world championship.This is something he could have at least hinted at when he signed his contract. In this case, we could have prepared a Plan B -- we would have had to in order to be ready. But it is as it is,” Lauda said.

Read more | Mercedes run cheeky job advertisement to fill in Nico Rosberg’s vacant position

Hitting back over the comments in a question and answer session with fans on Facebook, Rosberg said Lauda acts entirely different in the media, before saying that the Mercedes boss’ has also made a shocking retirement from the sport in the middle of the 1979 season.

“Well the entire time I was talking a lot to Niki and (he was) completely different from the way he acts in the media. I think that is because of his disappointment, which I can understand. It’s what made this decision the hardest for me because I know that I brought hard times upon my racing family,” news.com.au quoted Rosberg, as saying.

Read more | Formula One: Fernando Alonso in line to replace Nico Rosberg at Mercedes

Lauda had walked away from Brabham during a practice session for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, saying that he had no more desire to “drive around in circles”.

Read more | Nico Rosberg is just a world champion, not among F1 greats: Bernie Eccelstone

“But to say I deserted the team? Well, not really. I can’t only drive because of the team.And on top of that, Niki quit during a race weekend in 1979 in the middle of the season and he was younger than me. Maybe he forgot about that,” Rosberg added.

Rosberg’s career is well noted for his intense rivalry with fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Both have raced each other for 17 years starting from the junior series, with Hamilton always being the upper hand in the race till the 2016.

Rosberg started his career with the Williams F1 team, for whom he raced from 2006 till 2009.

He later joined Mercedes in 2010 alongside seven-time World champion Michael Schumacher.

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