Nico Rosberg wrecks Niki Lauda after the Mercedes chairman criticised him for making his team look dumb.
While most of us were completely gobsmacked by Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement, Niki Lauda’s reaction was more annoyance.
“What annoys me the most is that now Nico is telling us that he would have continued had he not won the world championship,” Lauda told Germany’s Die Welt newspaper.
“This is something he could have at least hinted at when he signed his contract. In this case, we could have prepared a Plan B — we would have had to in order to be ready. But it is as it is.
“We all gave him the opportunity to become world champion in a fantastic car — and then he tells us he wants to retire.
“This has created a huge hole in this great working team. And we’re left looking dumb.”
It appears though that Niki Lauda suffers from a short memory, as the Austrian’s retirement from F1 at the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix came in the middle of the race weekend during a practice session.
Rosberg didn’t forget though…
“Well the entire time I was talking a lot to Niki and (he was) completely different from the way he acts in the media,” said Rosberg during a Facebook Live Q&A. “I think that is because of his disappointment, which I can understand. It’s what made this decision the hardest for me because I know that I brought hard times upon my racing family.
“I knew that would happen, that was the hardest part and that is exactly why one hour after I decided to retire I told Toto Wolff, to give them as much time as possible to find an alternative.
“But to say I deserted the team? Well, not really. I can’t only drive because of the team.
“And on top of that — Niki quit during a race weekend in 1979 in the middle of the season and he was younger than me. Maybe he forgot about that.”
