Motor racing
Nico Rosberg has signed a multi-year contract extension with Mercedes, confirming that the driver will remain alongside his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and with the German marque he joined in 2010, although no specific length of the contract was revealed.
The deal is understood to have been concluded earlier this year but that Mercedes have announced it just before the German Grand Prix is almost certainly no accident. The country is on a high after winning the World Cup and confirmation that the Silver Arrows are maintaining their German driver before their home grand prix will be hugely popular with fans.
Rosberg leads the Formula One world championship, four points clear of Hamilton, with this weekend’s race here in Hockenheim the 10th of the 19-race season. Hamilton closed the gap with a win at Silverstone in the last GP when Rosberg retired with a gearbox problem but with the advantage the Mercedes has over the rest of the field this year, both the drivers and the team know that the title fight is between the pair.
“As a German, the heritage of Mercedes-Benz is very special for me,” Rosberg said. “It has been a difficult road to get to where we are now – but everybody kept believing and, thanks to the fantastic support from Mercedes-Benz, we are now leading the way in Formula One.”
The 29-year-old began his F1 career with Williams in 2006 and joined Mercedes in 2010 – the marque’s comeback to Formula One, taking over the 2009 championship-winning BrawnGP squad, having last competed as a team in 1955. He was first partnered with Michael Schumacher but Rosberg proved himself the better of the seven-times world champion during the three years they were team-mates, out-qualifying him by a ratio of 41 to 17, finishing higher in the championship in all three seasons and in 2010 and 2012 scoring almost twice as many points as Schumacher.
But as part of the team, Rosberg has seen through a difficult period for Mercedes. Their only win in those three years was his debut Formula One victory at China in 2012 (the constructor’s first since Juan Manuel Fangio won at Monza in 1955) and although Rosberg won two more in 2013 at Monaco and Silverstone (with Hamilton taking the flag in Hungary) it was not until this year that the team have become championship contenders and done so with vigour – their car and engine package has proved untouchable and it is not surprising Rosberg is eager to stay.
He has won a further three times this season to take the championship lead and make his record six wins, eight pole positions and 17 overall podiums with Mercedes, achievements recognised by head of motorsport Toto Wolff: “His speed, commitment and focus have all helped to give clear direction and to drive the team forward. With his performances in 2014, Nico has demonstrated to the outside world what we knew already in the team: that he is one of the very top drivers in Formula One.”
Equally, Rosberg is fully aware that for the moment Mercedes is the race seat every driver craves. “We have an awesome team and I am confident that we have the right people in place at every level,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the next years together, when we will keep pushing to win even more races – and, hopefully, championships.”
Going into the German Grand Prix weekend, McLaren’s Jenson Button, whose contract lasts only to the end of this season, has still to confirm any deal. For Rosberg the announcement sits in the middle of a busy week. He married his long-term girlfriend, Vivian Sibold, last Friday and is eager to top it off with a win in Hockenheim on Sunday. “What a week!!,” he tweeted. “I got married, Germany won and I signed a new contract with mercedes! Just need to win my home GP now;).”
