The 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is right around the corner as less than a week remains for F1 to return to the streets of Baku. Ahead of this year’s Azerbaijan GP, here is a look back at the 2016 edition when Nico Rosberg took all his fellow drivers on his private jet to Baku.
2016 was also interestingly Rosberg’s last season in F1 as he retired after winning the championship that year. The German finished the campaign on 385 points and beat seven-time Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton to the title by just five points.
Nico Rosberg takes his rivals to Baku on his private jet
After sharing a plane together to Baku for the 2016 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg took to his official YouTube channel and uploaded a short clip of the same. The video showcased Daniel Ricciardo, David Coulthard and Max Verstappen having a fun chat with each other.
The video seems to have received a good reception as it has over 193,000 views. Most of the fans praised Rosberg for shooting a fantastic video. Meanwhile, others were amazed to see that the German began his own YouTube channel while he was still racing in F1.
Rosberg reveals why he retired immediately after winning the title
In a conversation with motorsport.nextgen, Nico Rosberg revealed that he made his decision to retire right after he won the championship in 2016. He believed it was best for him to retire as he felt as though he had given up his identity.
“Everything in my life until that moment involved nothing but racing. It was a shock to my system to drop this parameter to zero all of a sudden,” he explained. The 37-year-old then went on to add that because he was so hooked on racing, he never really took the time to discover what other passions he had.
Rosberg stated that no matter what he chose to do after racing, he would be starting from ‘scratch’. Hence, since the former Mercedes driver knew nothing beyond racing, he explained that the biggest challenge for him was getting to know himself better.
After retiring from F1, Rosberg expanded his career into various fields. Not only does he commentate for F1 races, but now he is also an eco-entrepreneur. The German has made investments in Formula E and several start-up technology and e-mobility companies.
