Wolff pays tribute to Rosberg

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has paid tribute to Nico Rosberg following the German’s announcement that he would be retiring from Formula One with immediate effect.

The new world champion made the shock revelation in Vienna on Friday less than five days after winning the title in Abu Dhabi.

Reacting to the news, Wolff said: "This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character. He has chosen to leave at the pinnacle of his career, as World Champion, having achieved his childhood dream. The clarity of his judgement meant I accepted his decision straight away when he told me.

"It's impossible to capture the essence of a person in a few short words. But Nico has a special combination of natural talent and fighting spirit that have brought him to where he is today.

"Throughout his career, people have thought he was on a golden path to success just because his father was a World Champion; in fact, I think in some ways that made the challenge greater - and meant he had to fight even harder with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

"With Mercedes, Nico has been a relentless competitor, bouncing back from tough times in an inspirational way, and he earned the respect of the sport with his tenacity, his fighting spirit and his grace under pressure.

"Since 2010, he has poured competitive energy into our team and we have grown stronger because of it. We simply say 'thank you' for the incredible contribution he has made to our success, alongside two of the all-time great drivers, Michael and Lewis."

Wolff revealed that the team will start the process of finding a replacement for Rosberg next week.

Photo: Getty/Mark Thompson

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