Nico Rosberg has left the door open to extending his spell as a Mercedes ambassador. Nico Rosberg could sign a new deal to extend his stint as a Mercedes ambassador. The 32-year-old spent six seasons driving for the German constructors in F1 after joining them from pit-lane rivals Williams. And he won his only ever World Drivers’ Championship with them last year before making the shock decision to quit the sport.
Rosberg didn’t leave Mercedes altogether though and continued to work for them in an off-track capacity. The German has now discussed potentially signing a new deal to continue as an ambassador and whether it will impact his criticism of them as an RTL pundit. “My contract as a team ambassador expires at the end of the year, so I will be totally independent,” he said. “It may be that I will become a Daimler [Mercedes shareholder] ambassador next year, but that will not stop me being completely neutral and commenting critically on the races. “Niki [Lauda] managed to do it as a member of the team, so in my situation I can as well.” Rosberg follows in his father’s, Keke, footsteps by going into F1 punditry.
And his first race in that role will be the 2018 Australian Grand Prix. Mercedes will be looking to defend their World Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship titles next year. The celebrations carried on as Rosberg enjoyed a rare race free Sunday by watching Germany defeat Argentina to lift the World Cup for a fourth time.
The Mercedes driver — who had sportingly invited French Lotus driver Romain Grosjean to watch Germany defeat France in the quarterfinals after qualifying for the British Grand Prix — plans to mark Germany’s triumph with a special helmet for his homecoming race. He will race around Hockenheim with football’s World Cup trophy at the centrepiece of a black, yellow and red design.
Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff said: “Nico’s speed, commitment and focus have all helped to give clear direction and to drive the team forward since 2010. “With his performances in 2014, Nico has demonstrated to the outside world what we already knew in the team; that he is one of the very top drivers in Formula One.”
Rosberg, the son of 1982 F1 world champion Keke, also goes to Germany with a multi-year contract extension in his back pocket. Mercedes has previously hinted at changes if its drivers’ relationship became fractious again, and with Hamilton under contract that placed Rosberg on the bubble – but he’s begun 2016 as the man in form.
