Personally I'm not really too bothered that he's retired, I've never really liked him but I can appreciate his huge talent.
While the statistics show that MS is the most successful F1 driver ever, sadly I don't think he'll ever be regarded as a "legendary" driver in the same way that Senna, Fangio, Moss, Clark or even Gilles Villeneuve are, which I think is a great shame as he is undoubtably ONE of the best ever.
I don't think any driver can be called the best ever for the simple reason that all the "greats" are from different eras with vastly different machines at their disposal.
Personally I think MS is retiring rather than having to face up to having a team mate on an equal standing in the team like Kimi would have done next season.
For me there have been just too many times where the ruthless streak (MS on Hill in '94 Adelade, Villeneuve, Jerez in 97), pure cheating (this year Monaco), stupidity (MS in Spa '98 ramming Coulthard and blaming DC) and wins handed to him on a plate (US GP and Austria) to name but a few.
Thanks for the awesome drives but seeya you won't be missed by me.
My tip for next year.
Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren.