Nico Rosberg: F1 legend on Silverstone memories and his 'beautiful' retirement

No regrets: Nico Rosberg has moved on from his career as a Formula One driver to support Heineken’s When You Drive, Never Drink campaign.
Heineken
Joe Krishnan14 July 2019

It is midday and the weather could not be more quintissentially Silverstone. Sunny spells with a spot of cloud cover, coupled with a brief and unexpected shower that causes panic among team bosses about which tyres to select for the fast-approaching qualifying session.

Nico Rosberg grins. He knows this is what the British Grand Prix is all about: unpredictability. Not just in the clouds, but on the track too.

The last time Rosberg lined up on the grid here, he was penalised by the stewards for violating radio regulations after his engineer told him how to fix a problem with his gearbox. Rosberg received a 10-second time penalty and was demoted from second to third.

Thankfully, Formula One abolished that particular rule in good time.

Even off the track, the usual questions posed by F1's leading powerbrokers about Silverstone's future are non-existent this time around. The race organisers recently renewed their contract until 2024, meaning that plans for a London Grand Prix have been put on hold for now and fans can enjoy making the trek to Northampton for the next five years at least.

Staying: Silverstone will hold the British Grand Prix until at least 2024.
Getty Images

Like the majority of key figures in the paddock, past and present, Rosberg is delighted. "It's amazing news," he told Standard Sport. "It's such an importance race. You've got the biggest turnout of fans, about 300,000, so it's awesome.

"I hope there will be many good races in the future here because it's the home of motorsport and has been on the calendar since day one in the 1950s."

The very sight of Rosberg trudging around the paddock at Silverstone in his fashionable attire - a blue bomber jacket, navy chinos and jet black canvas shoes - turns more than just a few heads. Fans flock to where the 34-year-old has perched inside the Heineken tent to hear the 2016 Formula One world champion's fascinating opinions on the sport and his work on their When You Drive, Never Drink campaign.

Nico Rosberg - In pictures

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After all, it wasn't so long ago that he was a racer; the one to be watched. He won his first race in China in 2012, Mercedes' first victory for 57 years, and triumphed three times in a row at the Monaco Grand Prix - his home race - something he says is his "favourite memory". Now he watches on from the sidelines, after his shock decision to retire from the sport at the age of 31.

The decision came just days after he had finally usurped long-standing rival and Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, in Abu Dhabi to win his first world championship, following in the footsteps of his father, Keke, who won it in 1982. He had his reasons. His wife, Vivian, had given birth to their daughter just seven months before and it seemed the right time to leave, with Rosberg "at the peak of the mountain" as he put it himself when announcing his departure from F1.

Euphoria: Nico Rosberg celebrates his championship triumph in 2016 with wife, Vivian.
Clive Mason/Getty Images

"It was amazing. To walk away on top like that, it was beautiful," he added. "I fought for a long time, I did 11 years of racing so I'm very happy with the way I ended my career and now I'm taking the next step."

Two-and-a-half years later, Rosberg remains the only driver to have beaten the Briton to the top of the podium at the end of the season in the V6 turbo era. But he's watched Hamilton add two more to his collection of titles - and now only Michael Schumacher (7) has won more than his five.

It begs the question: does he regret choosing not to defend his title? "No, not at all. I'm completely fulfilled by what I achieved. I don't have any regrets. I don't wish I won more or whatever else. I've got one [title] and I'm very happy with that."

Will we ever see Nico Rosberg put on his racing overalls in a competitive race again? "Never," he replies assertively, without a moment of hesitation.

As a racing fan, you can't help but feel disappointed. His rivalry with Hamilton was so tense and thrilling at times that it could have easily developed into one of the sport's greatest-ever. Remember that ill-fated day in Barcelona? Ultimately, it's a decision Rosberg seems at peace with, and his stance has not wavered since that press conference in December 2016.

Rivals: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go wheel-to-wheel at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi in 2014.
Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Mercedes did well to find a suitable replacement in Valtteri Bottas, who qualified on pole ahead of Hamilton for Sunday's Grand Prix. The winners of the last six constructors' championships have blown away their rivals again, cruising to eight wins out of nine races in 2019. Rosberg freely admits he never expected such an era of dominance after some darker days at the beginning of the decade.

"No, never. Never at all. We came from such a difficult situation back in 2010. There was trouble and it was just horrendous. I didn't think it was possible for us to progress so quickly."

Rosberg now has a more relaxed schedule, appearing as an occasional pundit for Sky Sports F1 and running his own podcast. But recently, he dedicated himself to a cause he clearly feels passionate about. In a partnership with Dutch beer brand Heineken, he has helped launch the 'When You Drive, Never Drink' campaign which focuses on changing the psychology of drink drivers from the moment they enter the bar.

"It's really important we're looking into that area because we're losing 1.1 million people every year on the roads and a big part of that is drink-driving," Rosberg explains. "Heineken approached me and they said 'hey, can we do something together' and what I really liked about it is that they are implementing actual changes in bars and things.

Rosberg signs the Drivers' Pledge as part of his joint campaign against drink-driving alongside behavioural scientist Helena Rubinstein.
Heineken

"It's not just about building awareness, it's also about changing attitudes. They have a scientist, Helena Rubinstein, who is implementing those changes and a behavioural psychologist - I studied psychology for 10 years - so that's something I really enjoy. I was really interested to learn about it."

Some race-going fans might agree the sport lost a part of its identity when the German-Finn waved goodbye. But while the road ahead for Rosberg may no longer involve racing to the chequered flag, few could argue against the importance of him helping steer people onto the right track.

When You Drive, Never Drink is a long-term global commitment by Heineken® to encourage responsible drinking. Since launching the results of the pilot study in the UK, Brazil, New Zealand and Russia have implemented the pilot programme, reducing drink-driving behaviour by up to 25% in Brazil and 7% in New Zealand. Following the success of the market pilots, Heineken® have been continuing to work with their behavioural expert partners to develop a behavioural change programme that can be rolled out at scale in markets around the world.

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