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With the
contract for AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg up for renewal at the end of
the 2009 Formula One season there has been much speculation as to which team
Nico may be driving for in 2010. For the Williams team there is not only the
issue of whether Nico will remain at the team but also whether current
driver Kazuki Nakajima will remain with the Williams team in light of the
teams decision to not continue with Toyota engines in 2010.
 Nico
has been linked with a possible move to both the McLaren and Brawn teams as
well as remaining at Williams. According to the German newspaper 'Bild',
both McLaren Mercedes and Brawn GP are looking at securing Nico for the 2010
season. The stories regarding a move to McLaren appear to have the most
substance with reports stating that Nico will replace Heikki Kovalainen.
Kovalainen has been with the McLaren team in 2008 and 2009 and during that
period he has failed to live up to the expectations that the team had of
him. If Nico does move to McLaren, he would become the first German to drive
for a works Mercedes team since Karl Kling back in 1955.
As for Brawn GP if Nico was to move to this team it is expected that Rubens
Barrichello would be released. But a Brawn GP spokesperson told Crash.net:
“We have no comment to make on any speculation regarding the team or our
drivers.”
Despite the moves by other teams Williams would be keen to retain the
services of Nico in 2010. In 2009 Nico has secured all the teams points and
is high on the list of drivers of note in the 2009 season. "He is very much on our list,"
Frank Williams told Autosport.com.
Williams said: "I would have thought he must be on the McLaren list if they
do drop Kovalainen, and I think Norbert Haug would love a German driver. We
will see.
"Nico is, on any three or five lap, the most exciting driver on the track.
"He digs himself out of some holes that we put him in some times - comes by
three places up at the end of the first lap.
"He is single-minded, chirpy, a little arrogant which is good – he is always
very good with the promo people, never an objection, he is very good."
During the Belgian Grand Prix weekend Nico said that he would like to have a
contract signed for next year within the coming weeks. “It looks good that I
can go where I want to go,” Rosberg revealed, admitting that he hopes to
have a deal signed and sealed within the next few weeks, “but I haven't
decided yet.”
If Nico did move on to another team there is the question as to who would
replace him. One driver on the list of possible drivers is current Williams
test driver Nico Hulkenberg. According to Williams technical director Sam
Michael Nico is one of many drivers on the list. Nico is currently leading
the GP2 series points and is most likely to secure the GP2 title with just
two races remaining.
Despite Nico's strong showing Michael says the team have yet to make a final
decision whether to allow Nico the opportunity to join the team as a full
time driver in 2010. Michael said: "Nico is someone that is on our list for
a drive next year. But there are lots of drivers knocking on our door.
"It's a point of discussion internally at the moment and we need to come to
a decision in the coming weeks or months. We have a long-term contract and
we have to decide whether to engage that or not.
"He's obviously very quick. He would be an F1 rookie, but it's not just
about GP2. He's someone that we have tracked for a long time and that we
have had a relationship with for a long time."
But Williams' Director of Engineering Patrick Head has expressed some
concern about Nico's history of putting his car into the gravel trap several
occasions.
Other names to have been linked with Williams for 2010 include BMW-Sauber
driver Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. Even Force India driver Giancarlo
Fisichella has being mooted as a possibility.
But for Nico Hulkenberg a door to a full time drive may also open at the
Williams team if current team driver Kazuki Nakajima does not stay with the
team in 2010. Williams is asking to be released from their customer engine
supply deal with Toyota. If Toyota goes it is felt that Toyota backed Kazuki
would look for a drive elsewhere. It is far from clear as to whether Kazuki
will stay with the Williams team for the 2010 season.
At the end of the day Nico Rosberg is well placed to secure a drive for the
2010 season, with the most likely scenario seeing Nico in the seat of a
McLaren Mercedes.
Nico added: "Negotiations are continuing but nothing has been fixed," he
said. "I have a preference and it's looking good, but there are several
options.
"Everything should be clear in the next few weeks, preferably earlier than
later. It is a burden I am carrying around."
With Frank Williams recently
seen as a guest of Mercedes-Benz at the Brands Hatch round of the DTM series
last weekend the rumour mills have been hard at work. It may be the case
that Williams is looking to secure a Mercedes engine for 2010, even though
they had been linked to Renault, and Frank's visit is somehow related to a
possible move by Nico Rosberg to McLaren-Mercedes. |
