Nico Rosberg won the 2016 Formula One World Championship and retired from Formula 1 days later.
Rosberg secured the title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 27 November 2016, finishing second behind Lewis Hamilton. That result gave him a five-point championship advantage over his Mercedes teammate and made him the first son of a former world champion to become champion himself since Damon Hill in 1996.
On 2 December, only five days after the finale, Rosberg announced his retirement. He explained that winning the championship had been his lifelong goal and that he did not want to continue taking on the physical and mental demands required to defend it.
His decision ended a highly competitive career with Mercedes. Rosberg had entered Formula 1 with Williams in 2006, joined Mercedes in 2010 and became Hamilton’s teammate from 2013 through 2016. Their rivalry produced three consecutive Mercedes title battles, with Rosberg finally prevailing in the last of them.