Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton’s then-teammate at Mercedes, has revealed that he left a jaw-dropping salary on the table when he decided to retire from F1.
Nico Rosberg, born on June 27, started his Formula 1 journey in 2006, racing until 2016. He achieved a remarkable victory by clinching the World Championship in 2016 with Mercedes.
However, shortly after this pinnacle achievement, Rosberg shocked the F1 community and the world by announcing his retirement from the sport in 2016.
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During a podcast on the Business of Sport, Rosberg made some major revelations about the previously undisclosed salary he left on the table amounting to $110 million.
Let’s look further at Rosberg’s revelation on Mercedes, What were the reasons behind his decision not to take or receive his salary? Does he have any regrets regarding his decision to retire?
Nico Rosberg’s Decision: Walking Away from a $110 Million Mercedes Salary in F1 Retirement
Just five days after clinching his first-ever world championship title by beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton by five points during the Abu Dhabi GP in 2016, Nico Rosberg shocked the world by announcing his retirement from the sport.
This unexpected decision caught his fans and Mercedes off guard because he had signed a new two-year contract ending in 2018 just a few months earlier.
Rosberg made an appearance on a recent podcast titled “Business of Sport,” Where he shared some interesting insights during his racing days.
One of the revelations was about the potential earnings he could have had. He mentioned that if he had stayed with Mercedes until the end of his new deal, he could have earned a staggering $110 million.
But the German stresses that he has no regrets about his decision to walk away from F1, highlighting that family comes first to him. He revealed his desire to spend time with his young family.
He said: “I had an existing contract for two more years and if I had simply continued driving for a few more years, that would easily have been 100 million.
‘I am so lucky that I have earned so much money with my sport that this money no longer played a role in my considerations.
“Because I knew that I could fulfill everything with what I earned anyway, including my children and grandchildren.”
Mercedes imposes penalties, forcing drivers to pay themselves
The 38-year-old also revealed that he and teammate Lewis Hamilton had to pay for damages if they crashed into each other after an intense rivalry.
After the big crash at the 2016 Barcelona Grand Prix, the drivers had to sign a contract stating that they were now responsible for the costs of their crashes themselves.
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“We had to sign a contract that from now on, if we crash, no matter whose fault it is, we will pay for the damage,” Rosberg told the podcast.
This was sometimes a big financial blow for the German. “I remember how much I had to pay, it was £360,000 that I paid for one of those crashes. That was very painful.”
Gaurang is a writer at the SportsOrbit covering articles related to F1,Gaurang was 14 when he cared more about playing football than studying. But when COVID hit and he had to stay home, he discovered Formula 1. It immediately caught his interest. Since then, he’s been really into Formula 1, watching every race and learning all about it. He still loves football, but now he’s also a big fan of Formula 1, especially Lewis Hamilton. Even though he loves racing, he still looks up to Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol.