Mercedes door opens for Pascal Wehrlein as Nico Rosberg rides off into sunset

Graham Caygill assesses where Mercedes stand after Nico Rosberg's stunning retirement on Friday, and points to Pascal Wehrlein as a likely successor.

Pascal Wehrlein scored a point for Manor this year. Lars Baron / Getty Images

It would have been interesting to follow the thoughts of Pascal Wehrlein over the past seven days.

The German driver, who is on the books of Mercedes-GP as their test driver, has raced in Formula One this season for Manor Racing.

But despite scoring a point for the team that finished last in the constructors’ standings in Austria, their only scoring effort of 2016, it was not clear-cut that he would still be on the grid in 2017.

Fellow Mercedes driver Esteban Ocon, who had driven for Manor in the second half of the season, had been selected ahead of him to go to Force India next year, and there was no guarantee he would get a seat at either Manor or Sauber, the only other team with a vacancy, for the following year.

Also see

• Announcement: Nico Rosberg, Formula One world champion, announces shock retirement

• Graham Caygill: After Abu Dhabi, Nico Rosberg has earned his success

But suddenly things have changed dramatically for Wehrlein with the news on Friday that Nico Rosberg is retiring from F1 with immediate effect, creating an opening at the constructors' champions, and one that he will be a strong favourite to fill.

In hindsight, the news of Rosberg’s shock move, just days after he had won his first drivers’ title, was not as surprising as it may seem to be.

The German’s emotional performance in his news conference at Yas Marina Circuit, after he had finished second in the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, to beat Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton to the championship by five points, hinted at the mental pressure that he had been under.

For seven weeks after winning the Japanese Grand Prix, Rosberg had to deal with the fact that it was his title to lose as even if Hamilton won the remaining four races, he would still win it simply by having three second places and a third.

In the best car in the field it seemed simple on paper. Stay out of trouble and it was all his.

But the reality was far different and Rosberg had to overcome four challenging weekends, culminating in handling the tactics of Hamilton’s attempts to back him up to the pack in Abu Dhabi.

He won it and followed in the footsteps of his father, Keke, the 1982 champion, but it came at a toll.

Close to tears, he spoke of how devastated he had been after missing out on the 2015 championship, and how he had never wanted to feel that way again.

The pressure had been enormous on him in Abu Dhabi as having deservedly been beaten by Hamilton the previous two years he knew this was his best, and possibly last, chance to be a world champion.

Rosberg had put in some of the best performances of his career this year, most notably in Singapore and Japan, but he had been helped by Hamilton’s misfortune with mechanical unreliability.

The prospect of facing all the pressure again in 2017 may have been the tipping point.

He has recently become a father for the first time and trying to find the motivation to push himself as hard as he has done, both in and out of the car, may have been the element where stopping came into his mind.

He had nothing to prove. He is a world champion and is the first driver since Alain Prost, in 1993, to quit at the top.

He may change his mind later on. He will be 32 in January, which is still a young age for a driver.

If he does return at some point in the future, he will not be the first world champion to retire then return.

Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher all returned to the cockpit after hanging up their gloves from the sport in the past.

Toto Wolff, the executive driver of Mercedes, said the team would take their time announcing who will partner Lewis Hamilton in 2017.

But given the majority of the proven winners in the sport, other than Hamilton, are locked into contracts at other teams, it is looking very good, on paper for Wehrlein, to get the promotion to a race-winning car.

Wehrlein had a mixed season at Manor, struggling at times compared to Ocon in the second of the year, but his run to finishing 10th place in Austria in June, in the weakest car in the field, was one of the performances of the year.

If it does end up being him, however, he will have a very hard act to follow in Rosberg.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport