Mercedes confirm new two-year deal for Rosberg

2017 F1 season

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Nico Rosberg will remain at Mercedes for the next two seasons, the team has confirmed.

Rosberg, who joined the team when Mercedes took over the Brawn team after the 2009 season, will remain with them until at least 2018.

Rosberg will remain at Mercedes until 2018
“We are delighted to announce that the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team has signed a two-year contract extension with Nico Rosberg for the 2017 and 2018 Formula One seasons,” Mercedes announced on Friday.

“Nico has been a core member of the Silver Arrows since the team returned to the sport in 2010 and has played a crucial role in the team’s success in that time.”

“He has scored 19 grand prix wins and 25 pole positions so far with Mercedes-Benz and is currently leading the drivers’ world championship.”

Rosbreg’s new contract brings his contract into line with team mate Lewis Hamilton’s who also has two years remaining on his current deal after this season.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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38 comments on “Mercedes confirm new two-year deal for Rosberg”

  1. Mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it would be very nice to see someone else challenge Lewis at it seems somewhat obvious after 3.5 years that Rosberg is not quite capable of matching Hamilton. On the other hand:

    1. There are only a select few drivers who I believe would do better against Lewis.
    2. Who is to say that Mercedes will still be the car to beat under 2017 regulations?

    Regardless of how good Mercedes is in 2017, I wish Rosberg had moved next season and new teammate pairings formed, because they help us learn about the competitiveness of drivers relative to each other.

    I wish we could see Rosberg team up with Alonso or Button, it would be fascinating to see how he would stack up.

    1. @kingshark Although I agree it would have been interesting to see him move out as he basically has been with the team since 2010 and there is little evidence they won’t be the force to be reckoned with in 2017. Realistically I only see Vettel or Alonso up to the task to actually beat Hamilton.

      1. Hamilton won’t be truly tested until he has a teammate who is one of the best. Senna was only considered great after he beat Prost in equal cars. I agree that Alonso & Vettel are capable of beating Hamilton if they had a Mercedes, but I think you could also add Ricciardo & Verstappen to the list.

        1. – Hamilton won’t be truly tested until he has a teammate who is one of the best.

          Sorry that is a false statement. Hamilton’s rookie year in F1 was in pairing with Alonso. Apparently you are convinced Hamilton is greater than Alonso.

        2. There are 20 drivers who would beat Hamilton with ease.

        3. Senna was considered “special” at Monaco in 1984 when he *should have won the race* in a horrid Toleman…..catching Prost no less, at a startling rate. And he was a rookie.

          In Portugal the following year, in the rain again, everybody knew he was the real thing.

          His standing amongst the pantheon of greats was certainly enhanced by beating Prost in the same car, but it was his massive talent that stood above all (he beat Mansell in his robo-car in 1991….Prost was out of the equation). Beating Prost just added to his utter dominance of the sport (see gap in qualifying between himself and everyone else). It’s pretty easy to extrapolate that if he had lived, he would have beat Schumacher in 1994 once Williams had sorted the car, and again in 95. Since Hill and Villeneuve, both average at best (JV less than average), won in 96 and 97 in the Williams, we can assume that if still racing, he would have trounced those 2 easily. He would have been a 7 time WC.

          The mouthbreathing simpletons who even try to compare LH and Senna are on crystal meth, or krokodil….it’s not even a discussion. Beating Nico in qualifying by .250 does not equate beating Prost in qualifying by 1.00+. A recent Sky comment stated that LH was the fastest 1 lap man the sport had seen in 20 years….erm….how many poles and fastest laps does Schumacher have to his name?

          I think the opposite of this hypothesis is true. LH won’t be considered great, like Senna (or Schumacher in 98-99) until he can take an average or below average car and make it punch well above it’s weight. In cases where LH is not in a championship winning car…well..look at his record vs Vettel in 2011-2013….he frankly drives no better than Nico Hulkenberg or any other group of very good drivers in the field. But the Ayrton Senna of his generation? Vettel makes a far better case.

          1. Except Vettel was trounced by Ricciardo……let’s leave this circular discussions going round in circles :)

          2. In my view all three are the Senna of their years. There is no way to compare Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton to Senna. Mind you I put Prost on the same level as Senna if not higher.

          3. @richardlamp In 2009 Hamilton took an average or below average car like you are saying and still won 2 races that year. Those days are long gone when you have a driver that out qualifies his team mate by 1 second. Now days there isn’t any really lousy drivers in F1. I mean, not in the Ricardo Rosset class anyway. Even Rio Haryanto seems to keep up with the talented Wehrlein. Between 2011-2013 Hamilton was still taking pole positions and winning races so I don’t know why you are telling us that he drives no better than any other driver in the field.

      2. @XTWL You really think Alonso is on Hamilton’s level ?. When Hamilton was a rookie McLaren poured more fuel in Hamilton’s car to make him slower, Alonso is good but no match for Hamilton, same goes to Vettel.

        1. @concalvez00 and @jorge-lardone, do you know how long that has been, things have changed since then. Don’t get stuck in the past.

      3. Hamilton, in his rookie year, beat Alonso, a 2 times world champion in 2007.

    2. @kingshark After 2.5 years, no? Anyway, I think we will only see NR get better, so this rivalry is going to continue to be enthralling, imho.

      1. @robbie Didn’t Hamilton join Mercedes in 2013 and not 2014?

        1. @kingshark @mashiat Sorry my bad, I forgot that LH and NR had a season together when SV was winning his last WDC.

  2. Glad this has finally been made official so we can concentrate on the racing without saying moves on track were because of contact negotiations.

    Personally I’m glad Rosberg stayed as I think they’re one of the strongest pairings on the grid and will keep pushing each other, hopefully not off the track too often though although I wouldn’t mind a few races like that.

    1. “contact negotiations” lol!

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      22nd July 2016, 10:49

      @glynh – Yeah I agree – they are an interesting pairing. There are a lot of drivers who wouldn’t be giving Hamilton as hard a time as Rosberg is.

      Hamilton is the better of the 2 but I’d rather this than a Schumacher/Alonso vs Massa situation.

  3. Good decision. It has always been a no-brainer.
    Both men are the best combination in any team in F1 at the moment. Where one fails, the other performs as expected so I don’t see why Mercedes should not have signed him as some had wanted. Going into the new rules, having both men ensures continuity and a two pairs of very capable hands to help maintain Mercedes’ F1 dominance.
    Congrats Nico. Now prove your doubters wrong and try to win this one championship – without anymore cheating or desperate moves though. Good luck.

    1. ColdFly F1 (@)
      22nd July 2016, 10:38

      Both men are the best combination in any team in F1 at the moment.

      If we disregard ALO/BUT, RIC/VER, VET/RAI, etc.

      Where one fails, the other performs

      If we disregards Spain and (almost) Austria, etc.

      PS – well deserved for Nico. He’s still the WDC leader.

    2. Both men are the best combination in any team in F1 at the moment.

      Don’t think I agree with that. Hamilton is a great but I’ve not been very impressed by Rosberg recently.

      Best driver pairing in F1? I’d take Alonso/Button over these two, perhaps even Ricciardo/Verstappen…

      1. @keithcollantine , @coldfly
        I was mindful of the pairing of FA/JB based on the achievements of both men. Currently, they are being let down by the car which is also why we cannot say they are not doing anything right. Vet is a great, no doubt, but Rai has been found wanting too many times. The problem I have with regarding VES/RIC pairing is that both men are still an unknown quantity. They are yet to show us if they are capable of winning a championship. Many drivers are fast but may lack the mental strength and nerves needed over an entire season in order to win a championship.
        Yes Rosberg has not performed as impressively in the last few races (which is normal in sports) but his overall performance relative to his team mate and in achieving team goals has been on target. Without Hamilton in the team, I can vouch that Nico would have walked both championships. Plus we are talking about a guy who won 7 races (two seasons combined) on the trot. That he is not performing well now, should not warrant any doubts concerning his capabilities. Even the best of sportsmen go through slumps.
        Of course every person’s grading of driver pairings is personal.

      2. @keith
        Really? FA/JB over LH/NR?

        If McLaren had Merc power FA would be destroying JB every weekend, even in the rain. They have both made the most of every opportunity, perhaps JB has had more luck than FA, but they are barely in the same page when it comes to ability. I think JB is a great person and hate FA but their performances over the years has been chalk and gravy.

        1. @chris

          Slightly harsh towards Jenson, he is extremely consistent, great racecraft, handles changing conditions well. Intangibles ….probably the best spokesman a team could ever want, classy, great image, humble, loved by all, frankly. The total opposite of the PR nightmare that is LH.

          But….you’re right….in every category of strengths on the track where I listed Jenson as being very good…Alonso is simply better.

      3. @keithcollantine I’m surprised you rate two drivers who are still miles away from WDC’s over the two WDC’ers at Ferrari. Also, I personally don’t rate LH as a great, nor any driver in this era where they are so limited from performing great feats. Hopefully F1 will start to reverse that trend next year. I just read on here one of the drivers saying you used to need a two hour massage from doing 10 laps in an F1 car, now they don’t break a sweat in 150 laps.

  4. I’d like to see some change in the top teams, but from Mercedes’ POV it was a no brainer.
    Now let’s see if Nico can win a champ against Lewis.

  5. Yet another F1 team making the “safe” decision. No real problem as they are the World Championship team and they’re looking to stay there so its logical to stick with safe.

    Hopefully next year one of the other teams with a great driver combination like the ones Keith has mentioned can put them under pressure – then we’ll see whether or not is was a good call or not.

  6. I am aware that this a British site but I fail to see how Button keeps cropping as a key challenger to his rivals. He was never a great and just lucked into his championship – he is just average. Considering the critique people have for Kimi and he was pushed out of Ferrari when he could have been at the peak of his ability – I am at a loss to understand how Button is always mentioned in the same breath as Alo / VET / HAM. No offence. Stats speak for themselves – race wins , podiums etc. he had an inglorious statistic Button won his first Grand Prix in Hungary, after 113 race starts.

    1. Button was never dominated by a team-mate the way Raikkonen has in recent years. Button fans are usually quick to point out his beating Lewis in one season.

      1. Button did dominate LH and was by far a more consistent driver. Everyone is forgetting that some of these lads are getting a bit old in the tooth. If LH is still racing at 36yrs, let’s see how he compares against Verstappen in a championship wining car and LH in a 3rd or 4th rate one. It will be a massacre.

        Anyone doubting Kimi’s skill as a driver (although recent form is weakish, by all accounts), needs to visit YouTube and see his sheer speed in 04-07 (Monaco qualifying anyone?)….frankly if it wasn’t for the Mercedes engines blowing up 50% of the time, not sure if Alonso would have won a single championship faced with a much faster Kimi and a reliable Mclaren.

        1. Where did Button dominate Hamilton? In 2010 was seemingly a pretty normal season for both drivers, though Hamilton was a bit unluckier, and he also lost himself at least 24 points with collisions, while Button didn’t lose himself any. At the end of the year Hamilton was 16 points behind Vettel in the championship standings, suggesting that his collisions had ultimately cost him. Suffering a tyre blowout while running 2nd on the penultimate lap in Spain (due to wheel rim failure), could also be pointed out as something that cost him the championship – two more laps and he would’ve bagged 18 points, enough to overcome his eventual deficit of 16 points. In 2011 Button was better than Hamilton, nothing to say there but at least Hamilton won the qualifying battle 13-6 and tied Button 3-3 in wins. In 2012 While 2011 had seen Button have a brilliant season and Hamilton flounder, in 2012 the roles were reversed. Hamilton drove better than ever, while Button spent most of the year struggling with the set-up of the car. Hamilton out-qualified Button 17-3 in 2012. In the 17 sessions where Hamilton out-qualified Button, he was an average of 0.429s ahead, being over half a second clear in 7 of them. This season seemed like the perfect opportunity for Hamilton to balance out what happened in 2011. However, Hamilton suffered an extraordinary amount of bad luck in 2012 and thus only ended up ahead 190-188 in points. While Button lost a few points to bad luck as well, it was completely dwarfed by Hamilton’s bad luck. Button also benefited slightly from the number of times Hamilton retired while running ahead of him, promoting him to a higher position. Much like Hamilton in 2011, Button occasionally showed flashes of brilliance, producing great drives in Australia, Spa and Brazil. However, Hamilton’s overall performance advantage over the course of the season was disguised by his extremely bad luck (by my calculations losing a staggering total of 110 points, compared to Button’s net 19 point loss).

  7. Congratulations to Rosberg on his contract extension.

    Who would have thought………..

  8. This is interesting since Sky reported just yesterday that Vettel is supposed to be going to Mercedes in 2018. Now they have updated the story today to say that their apparent source for the previous story, Christian Horner, was just joking about Vettel going to Merc.

  9. Retaining Kimi and now Rosberg is plain Boring for F1.

    1. Kimi is boring, but in a good way. Rosberg is just plain boring though…

  10. Looking at the performance gains by the other teams, the car with the best chance of winning the Drivers World Championship this year is still Mercedes, and the car most likely to win it next year is probably a Mercedes as well, so this was Rosberg’s best chance of winning the title.

  11. The so-called rivalry goes on for another 2 years.
    Let’s see how long it takes before Nico burns the contract himself after being beaten to another DWC.

    But eventually understandable.
    Who out of anyone who isn’t contracted for next year would fill that seat better and match Lewis?
    There wasn’t anyone suited enough of picking up that seat besides the other DWC’s and Verstappen.
    Some might say put a young talent like Wehrlein in but he isn’t ready yet for that seat.

    We all want competitive teammates to avoid a repeat of the Schumi era. But name one driver in the field who’s not driving for Red Bull, Ferrari or Mclaren that can do better then Nico against Lewis.

    1. I agree and certainly if they had replaced Nico that replacement would have at a minimum started off next year on his hind foot against super-engrained LH, so I think even a great driver would struggle to keep up in those initial ‘growing pains’ races if not for at least half the season. Of course, it’s a new chapter next year too, with the new-look cars, so either way it’s going to be fascinating to see how this goes for all the drivers, some of whom only know the conservative ways of recent years.

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