After inking the deal with the Brackley based team, Rosberg admitted that he will be honored to become the first German driver – which he considers to be, even though his father is Finnish ace Keke Rosberg – to drive for Mercedes Benz in Formula One in over five decades. However, he also revealed that driving for a manufacturer was one of the reason why he joined this team, as the Stuttgart based company bought into Brawn GP a couple of weeks ago.
Talking to reporters at the yesterday news conference about Rosberg's signing with the team, Silver Arrows CEO Nick Fry insisted, however, that the deal with the German driver was finalized before the Mercedes buyout.
“Nico was due to join Brawn under any circumstance. We are extremely pleased that the circumstances have worked out as they have done but the negotiation was done principally with the Brawn team and myself and Ross (Brawn),” said Fry.
Therefore, Nico was initially scheduled to become Jenson Button's teammate for 2010, but with the 29-year old champion gone, he'll now have a better chance of proving himself within the team. His teammate's name is yet to be decided, but the likely candidates for the job seem Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil.
Apart from the Michael Schumacher allegations, a new name seems to have appeared in plain sight, Polish driver Robert Kubica. Renault are still to deliberate on their future plans regarding Formula One and, should that choose to quit the series at the end of this year, the Pole would remain seatless for the 2010 season and, consequently, up for grabs.
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