Nico Rosberg confirms he will leave the Williams F1 team at the end of the current season
Nico Rosberg has confirmed that he will leave the
Williams F1 team at the end of the current season.
Rosberg, who is widely tipped to join
Brawn GP for 2010, made the announcement ahead of the final round of the 2009 campaign in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Speaking to reporters at the Yas Marina venue, Rosberg confirmed what was widely expected within the F1 paddock, although he admitted it would be strange to move away from the team that gave him his chance in F1 back in 2006.
"It is my last race for
Williams – and that's it really," he said. "It's a bit strange as they are the only team I have worked with. Frank
Williams, Adam Parr, Sam Michael and Patrick Head have really supported my career over the years and I'd like to say a big thank you to them.
"There's no reason why they [
Williams] can't be as good as this year, but I'm not sure they can win races at the moment and I would like to win races. It's been a good season because they gave me a good car. It was an opportunity to raise my share value and to find a winning car for next year."
The German driver refused to comment on where he will race next season, with the most likely destination looking to be new champions
Brawn GP.
Mercedes' desire to have a German driver at either Brawn of
McLaren is likely to play a large part in Rosberg's future plans, with
McLaren being an alternative should a deal with Brawn not be forthcoming.
Current Brawn driver
Rubens Barrichello could move the other way having already revealed that he was talking to
Williams as 'one possible option' for 2010.
Should the Brazilian make the move to the team, he is likely to be the experienced figure in a new-look line-up which would also feature current test driver
Nico Hulkenberg who is widely tipped to replace
Kazuki Nakajima, who has seen his position come under threat after a season in which he failed to score.
The end of
Williams' relationship with
Toyota is also likely to be a factor in his departure from the team.
"I don't want to talk about my future," Rosberg concluded. "I just want to say that it won't be with
Williams because that's for sure."
