I would like to announce today my decision to retire from racing in
Formula 1 at the end of this season. I will remain actively involved in the sport as a consultant to
Red Bull Racing, focusing on testing and development of the cars. I have an open mind as to whether or not I will compete again in the future, in some other form of motorsport, so I am definitely not hanging up my helmet!
My decision to retire was taken earlier in the year, and is based on a desire to stop while I am still competitive and enjoying the immense challenge that grand prix driving represents. I also have the desire to look for new challenges within the sport.
The decision to make this announcement at the British Grand Prix should be an obvious one for all to understand, as I have achieved two of my 13 F1 victories at
Silverstone and I am a member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, which hosts this event.
I am proud of my work at Red Bull Racing, and will continue to race with the same focus until the last lap in Brazil. Thereafter I will continue to help the team develop and move towards their ultimate goal of winning races.
There are many people who have played a part in my career, and I would like to list a few of them below:
- My parents, whose energy and encouragement through my entire career has been amazing
- Dave Boyce, who guided me through karting
- David Leslie Senior and Junior, for teaching me how to set up and race a car
- Sir Jackie and Paul Stewart, for putting me through their ‘staircase of talent'
- Sir Frank
Williams and Williams-
Renault, for having the faith to promote me from test driver to race driver, which led to my first grand prix victory
- Ron Dennis and the
McLaren team, where I spent nine seasons and achieved the majority of my success
- Norbert Haug and Mercedes, for being racers through-and-through
- Dietrich Mateschitz and his Red Bull Racing team, for providing me with the chance to contribute to the development of a new team, while continuing to compete and add to my tally of podiums
- Christian Horner, for his open and professional management style in association with Helmut Marko
-
Bernie Ecclestone, for providing such a strong platform for us all to develop our skills and be able to call ourselves professionals. In years to come, my future family will still be thanking him for the financial success of
F1
