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After several
weeks of media speculation over the future of AT&T Williams driver Nico
Rosberg Nico has finally confirmed he will be leaving the Williams team at
the end of the 2009 season.
 Nico's
current contract expires at the end of 2009 and he is being linked with
several teams for the 2010 season, the most recent being the Brawn GP team.
After a 2009 season that saw Nico achieve some good result but he has made
it clear he wants to be looking for further success in 2010 driving for what
he considers to be a race winning team.
Nico confirmed in Abu Dhabi on Thursday that he will leave the Williams team
at the end of his current contract. Despite confirming that he was leaving
the Williams team he would not give any clue as to for which team he would
be driving for in 2010.
Nico said: "It is my last race for Williams, and that is it really. It is a
bit strange because for four or five years it is the only team I have worked
with, so it has been a long time.
"I get on with everybody really well, obviously, and a lot of respect has
built up - with the mechanics and everyone. So it will be quite strange to
leave.
"I can also use this opportunity to thank the team, because all in all I
think they have done, for my career, a lot of good. Especially Sir Frank
[Williams], Adam Parr, Sam Michael and Patrick [Head], they supported my
career all these years. So it is a big thank you to them."
He added: "I don't want to talk about my future. I just want to say that I
won't be at Williams, because that is for sure."
In an interview for autosport.com Nico answered questions in regard to his
move from the Williams team.
Q. Are you treating this as your last race for Williams?
Nico Rosberg: It is my last race for Williams. And that is it really. It is
a bit strange because for four or five years it is the only team I have
worked with, so it has been a long time. I get on with everybody really
well, obviously, and a lot of respect has built up - with the mechanics and
everyone. So it will be quite strange to leave.
I can also use this opportunity to thank the team, because all in all I
think they have done, for my career, a lot of good. Especially Sir Frank
[Williams], Adam Parr, Sam Michael and Patrick [Head], they supported my
career all these years. So it is a big thank you to them.
Q.So is your future settled then?
NR: I don't want to talk about my future. I just want to say that I won't be
at Williams, because that is for sure.
Q. Do you know where you will be?
NR: I don't want to say.
Q. Looking at your season this year, if you had to give yourself a grade of
1-100 on your performance, what grade would you give yourself?
NR: 101! Is that on the scale? No, I'm just kidding! I would say it has been
a good season. I would say that the team has given me a good car this
season, which has been important for me because it has given me the
opportunity to raise my share value, and gave me a great opportunity for
next year to have a chance to get a winning car to win races – which is what
I would like to do. For me it has been a good season, and the team gave me a
good car.
Of course, it was not as good as we wanted it to be, because we wanted to be
on the podium winning races, but it was consistent. We always knew what we
had. We knew whichever track we went to we would be up there, finishing top
five for a series of races, and seventh in the world championship is okay.
From my point of view, I got the best out of the car this season because I
could not have beaten [Lewis] Hamilton or [Kimi] Raikkonen, I don't think
there was any way of beating them, so I got the best out of it. So I am
quite pleased.
Q. Both you and Williams made a good step forward this season. How difficult
a decision then was is for you to leave?
NR: To say it clearly, Williams is a great team. And there is no reason why
they cannot be just as good as this year, next season – which is running
quite close to the top. But I am not sure they can win races at the moment.
With budgets still being rather free, and an engine change coming up which
will not help, so I am not sure they can win races at this point of time –
although I am convinced that they can do very well. But I would like to win
races. That is what really encouraged me to push for the next step.
Q. So that was your priority – to be in a race-winning car from race one
next year?
NR: You never know, but I would like to try and get into a car where I think
there is a very good chance of winning.
Q. So will you announce your future after this race?
NR: No. It is going to take some time.
Q. Why will it take time? Is there some reason?
NR: Sorry, I can't say.
Q. There is some talk that your affiliation is to Mercedes-Benz next year,
and they will decide where you go...
NR: Sorry…but it is looking good.
Q. When will you able to say something?
NR: I don't know. That is quite honest actually.
Q. Will it be a big surprise, or is it something that people already know?
NR: Sorry!
Q. You ran on the Abu Dhabi track this morning. What do you think of it?
NR: It looks great. It looks very good. It is very exciting also. The track
should be good. With overtaking I am not sure, because the straight is very,
very long. It should help overtaking I guess, but I am not sure. We have to
wait and see. All the surroundings are spectacular.
What is very nice is the enthusiasm all the people have here. It is quite
different to Bahrain, where it still needs to grow in terms of the
enthusiasm from the people who live there. Whereas here, it is already very,
very big. I was in Dubai for RBS, doing a sponsor day, and everybody was so
enthusiastic which was great to see. It should be a very nice event from
that point of view.
Q. Have you done the track in the simulator?
NR: On the simulator I did three hours of running. It was very accurate, so
I know the track inside out already. When I go out there, I know exactly
what to expect.
Q. And the pitlane exit tunnel?
NR: I hit the wall three times! And I heard the McLaren drivers did a couple
more than that. It was the outside wall.
Q. So do you think it will be a problem this weekend?
NR: It should be fine. I don't think there will be any problem.
Q. The fact that Abu Dhabi has made such an effort, do you think it could be
a problem for the future of the European races?
NR: You don't necessarily need that [effort] to have a great grand prix
weekend. Most European standards are okay now. F1 needs the grands prix in
Europe. The home of F1 is Europe, so I think we need to keep our base there.
But it is also nice to have some new races across the world – and to spread
F1 a little bit. |
