Mercedes chairman Zetsche reveals reaction to Rosberg retirement news - MotorSportsTalk

Mercedes chairman Dieter Zetsche has revealed his immediate reaction to the news that Nico Rosberg would be retiring from Formula 1.

Rosberg clinched his maiden F1 title in Abu Dhabi for Mercedes as the German marque won both championships for the third year in a row.

Five days after being crowned champion, Rosberg sensationally announced his immediate retirement from F1, much to the surprise of the entire F1 paddock and the Mercedes team.

In an interview with Autocar, Zetsche revealed that he initially thought something had happened with Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg’s teammate, when Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff called him at a somewhat inconvenient time.

“I was stepping out of the shower lacking any clothes, which I normally do when I get out of the shower! And my phone was ringing,” Zetsche said.

“And I saw it was Toto and I thought: ‘Oh again, something with Lewis!’

“But then I got the news. And I did not expect that, I must say.”

Zetsche said that he understood Rosberg’s decision to quit F1, recognizing that the German had fulfilled his life’s goal by becoming world champion.

“I respected that decision,” Zetsche said.

“I mean, obviously, one [Hamilton] is saying ‘I want more and more and I want to break more records and make history’, and the other one [Rosberg] is saying ‘well, I finally fulfilled my life dream and what can be on top of that?’, and both approaches are legitimate.

“Of course, it would have been easier and more pleasant for us to have two world champions in our team for the season to come.

“Now we need a new driver and that’s how life works. And so I was not insulted or totally disappointed. I respected his decision.”

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With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event