Stewart lauds Nico Rosberg's decision

Sir Jackie Stewart has described Nico Rosberg's decision to retire from Formula 1 at the age of 31 as "courageous and wise".

Stewart won three world championships, in 1969, 1971 and 1973, before retiring at the age of 34, withdrawing from what would have been the final race of his career following the death of his Tyrrell teammate Francois Cevert in practice.

The Scot was an outspoken advocate for safety in Formula 1 during and after his driving career, campaigning for the changes for safety.

Rosberg did not cite safety as one of the motivating factors behind his decision, pointing instead to his desire to spend more time with his young family, to the intensity of the season just gone, and to the fact that he had achieved his career goal.

Stewart, though, speculated that it might have been at least one of the factors.

"Very few drivers have had the courage to do what Nico has done. Or the wisdom.

"To come through without a drop of blood off his body, to win the world title, and then to say: 'That's it, I'm done'.

"It's definitely much safer now but we saw with Fernando's [Alonso] appalling accident this year how close drivers are to serious injury."