Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg produced one of modern Formula 1's most singular stories: winning the world championship and retiring five days later, at the absolute peak. Son of 1982 champion Keke Rosberg, he grew up between Germany and Monaco and was, curiously, a childhood friend of Lewis Hamilton, with whom he would wage his greatest battle.

After cutting his teeth at Williams, he joined Mercedes in 2010 and rode the team's rise to the top of the hybrid era. Between 2014 and 2016 his in-house duel with Hamilton was fierce, with on-track clashes and a tension that spilled beyond the garage. In 2016 he planned everything to the millimetre: he opened by winning the first four races and withstood Hamilton's fightback to seal the title in Abu Dhabi.

Aware that he had reached his ceiling and of the huge emotional toll, he announced his retirement immediately, an almost unprecedented move that made him the rare champion who walks away unbeaten and on his own terms.