Rosberg confirms Williams exit in 2010

Posted on

| Written by

This weekend will be Rosberg's last with Williams

Wherever Nico Rosberg ends up in 2010, it won’t be with Williams.

He confirmed to the press today that he’s leaving the team, which gave him his F1 debut, after four years with them. He starts his 70th Grand Prix for the Grove outfit this weekend.

Rosberg has had a strong fourth season with Williams, managing seven consecutive points finishes in the middle of the year. He’s lost some points to mistakes (notably at Singapore) but has also been poorly served by the team on occasions (his Monte-Carlo strategy and Interlagos retirement, for example).

He has said he wants a winning car in 2010 and he is thought likely to get it. His expected destination is Brawn to partner Jenson Button.

Appropriately enough, father Keke Rosberg also spent four years with Williams, but when he left in 1985 his destination was McLaren.

Read more: 2010 F1 drivers and teams

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

33 comments on “Rosberg confirms Williams exit in 2010”

  1. Good luck to Nico at Brawn, but I can’t help feeling sorry for Rubens. Perhaps he will take Nico’s seat at Williams…

    1. Why shouldn’t Nico go to McLaren?

  2. He is sooo gonna kick Button’s asss at Brawn

    1. Mussolini's Pet Cat
      29th October 2009, 15:40

      Unlikely, Nico makes more mistakes than Jens.

      1. Well that may be true, but remember Jenson’s got 6 seasons more under his belt than Nico.

    2. I agree. I think he will wipe the floor with him

    3. Terry Fabulous
      29th October 2009, 21:28

      Yup just like Villenueve was going to wipe the floor with him. And the Barrichello was going to flog him.

      The only driver to beat Button as teammate has been Fisichella when Button was having his annus miserables in 2001. Since then, he has dispatched all comers.

      Nico will get pantsed by the World Champion.

      1. Hmmm … let’s see… you already informed us about Giancarlo Fisichella, then we have Ralf Schumacher in 2000 and Rubens Barrichello in 2008 – doesn’t look so flawless to me.

        1. I dont know how peeps can say Button is better than Rosberg, secodn half of season they had similar finishes yet the Brawn is clearly a quicker car.

          I find it hard to judge Jenson, this year was a freky championship with the huge lead brawn had at the start, and he had such terrible cars in the past its impossible to tell.

          But I think Rosberg is gonna surprise a lot of people, and be a title contender if he’s in a good car. I think he will beat Button.

          Why are people doubting Brawn?

        2. How many rookie beats a race-winning team-mate on their debut year, though?

  3. Expect Nico to get his first win, maybe a couple of wins but don’t think Brawn will challenge for title next year if Ferrari and Mclaren are back up to form and then there is the challenge of RBR.

    1. Yes, but Ferrari and Macca needs to redesign they cars, because they were designed with the KERS on mind, and for next year the KERS had been banned.
      We have too many questions to be responded before we can say that Ferrari and Macca will go to be competitive next year.

      1. Agreed, but they have biggest teams, money and best drivers around. The Ferraris and Mclarens have not been the best this year but they have gave the title contenders a headache at times with getting in the way.

  4. He is a consistent talent, and I’m sure he’ll give his team-mate a tough time! Be it Jenson or Lewis. I don’t know, but few comments here earlier suggested that it was Lewis who was not interested to have Kimi on the other McLaren. If that is true, then we can be pretty sure that it is Brawn where Nico will be driving next year.

  5. Appropriately enough, father Keke Rosberg also spent four years with Williams, but when he left in 1985 his destination was McLaren.

    Coincidentally Rosberg Sr replaced a man who cheated death(nurburgring 1976), Nico is replacing a man who did the same(Imola 1994). But lauda retired, still remains to be seen if Rubens does the same. Rosberg Sr partnered Prost who was the drivers champ in 1985, Nico is partnering the 09 champ. Keke retired the following year, don’t think Nico will quit in 2010.

    1. Thanks so much for your insight.

  6. Can someone help me, is Mercedes looking for huge a stake at Brawn GP for 2010?

    1. @ mani – this article may shed some light on your question
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8331563.stm

      1. Thanks for the link chaz!

  7. This should really tell us if Nico is really that good a driver. I still have my doubts. But good luck, Nico – whether at Mclaren or Brawn, I hope its the latter.

  8. I cant help but feel like Rosberg’s talent is greatly inflated by the media. He’s had his moments but overall he doesnt seem deserving of the praise that is heaped upon him. He seems pretty average. Am I missing something here?

    1. I think he’s a good driver with a great deal of talent. He got a lot more out of the car this year than Nakajima and got a fair few 4th places which to seems more than the car looked capable of.

      If he goes to Brawn I can see him being strong competition for Button, and he’d be a good wing man for Hamilton hopefully taking points off the opposition. I’d be happy if he was at either team and hopefully pick up his first win :)

      1. He got a lot more out of the car this year than Nakajima…

        That really isnt saying much! :)

  9. I would have liked Rosberg to stay at Williams and it would have been nice for him to end Williams winless streak, but I have to agree with his reasons for leaving, that Williams are unlikely to fight for wins next year.

    It seems that he will probably end up at Brawn next year. Before Button’s Championship I would have said it could be close between the two, but Button’s Title win should have given him confidence and while Brawn will give equal treatment to both drivers, Button has been there for a while and will be the reigning World Champion so the bond will be strong between him and the team.

  10. It will be interesting to see how he will measure up against a worthy team mate again. Since Webber left Williams he didn’t really have a strong teammate

  11. Rosberg has shown this year that he can be consistent. He has the pace and the guts, which is why I like him.

    I think he can match Button, no problem. Rosberg has World Champion quality in my opinion, just depends on how he’s guided and Ross Brawn is the right man for the job. Brawn wont be able to run away with the tittle early in the season as they did this year for the coming season.

    Next year is going to be interesting..if Kimi goes to Mclaren, which means Nico will be at Brawn, we will potentially have 4 teams and 8 drivers challenging for the tittle. Its going to be the most exciting season yet!!

    Alonso for WDC 2010?

  12. He did a great job in the Williams,hope if he go in Brawn he will be able to unleashed his talent.

  13. One can only conclude that Rosberg already signed with that winning team that he has been looking for. It could be McL…

    off: Brazilian sites are claiming that Senna signed with Campos, and the other driver is likely to be Pedro de la Rosa. It’s to be confirmed next week.

  14. I have to agree with what some have mentioned in this post about Mercedes going more towards Brawn Gp than McLaren. It has been widely rumoured that Rosberg, being a German driver, has been on Mercedes hit list for sometime and the obvious place was McLaren.
    With the arrival of Brawn Gp, and their place as champions confirmed, the fear for McLaren must be their relationship with Mercedes weakening due to Brawn Gp.
    We have already seen Williams sign a Japanese driver, in a suspected move to keep engine supplier Toyota happy. So definately this move is political, and has worked out well for Nico if true.
    One cannot forget, as sad as it will be to see Barrichello get dropped, the Brazilian’s emotional outbursts during this season. It is not hard to imagine the damage done by these outbursts, considering Barrichello was given the opportunity to race again by Ross Brawn.
    Over the last few years, we have seen flashes of promise from Rosberg. The thing I like about him the most is the fact that he gets on with the job at hand, and never comes across as negative.
    As for Jenson Button, I doubt at this moment in his life he cares who his team mate is. If Rosberg turns out to be fast, then it will be yet another challenge that I am sure Button will relish.
    Jackie Stewart is right. Button is at the perfect age. He has the experience, the knowledge, that helps drivers in their quest to become champions. Drivers like Rosberg, and especially Vettel, are still young and are learning their trade.
    When they gain the experience, and in Vettel I am sure, it will be a different story altogether.

  15. Well I’m curious to say the least! I think he did a fantastic job at Williams and he’s going to give any team mate a run for their money! He seems pretty fast and consistent in his results. The Williams wasn’t that good of a car and he still managed to secure 7th place in the championship which is probably more than one could ask for. He’s a fighter on the court too. He did have some slight mistakes that cost him podium finishes though. The worst IMO was in Singapore where he was second and then drove over the white line of the pit. But other than that he’s shown great moves and consistency throughout the season and he’s good at qualifying as well. I personally hope he’s going to Brawn Gp so that Kimi can go to McClaren next to Hamilton. Also the trading Rosberg with Barichello isn’t at all a bad one for Williams considering they need an experienced driver next to their Rooky Hülkenberg.

    Rosberg vs. Button is interesting. I do think Rosberg is a bit quicker but Jenson Button’s driving style allows him to have many, many absolutely flawless performances. Button doesn’t make many mistakes, you can trust him to bring a car home whereas Rosberg seems to have a little more mistakes in a regular race. Rosberg vs. Hamilton is interesting too but I do think Hamilton is the faster one of the 2. Hamilton to me is one of the absolute top drivers along with Alonso, Raikkonen and Vettel. Rosberg is close though. I think he’s in the group with Webber and Barichello and he seems to have the potential to go to the first group the way I see it. I see no reason why Brawn Gp is not competative next year btw! Everyone is acting like they’ll never win a race again but they have Ross Brawn, they have resources (more than this year) and with Rosberg and Button they have 2 fine drivers. Point is: Rosberg deserves to be in a competative car and so do we as F1 fans. Let’s see if he can live up to the hype!

  16. How about this? Kimi takes a year out and Nico goes to McLaren and Brawn promote Anthony Davidson to the race seat. All British superteam! :)

  17. If the rumours are true and Rosberg is partnering Button at Brawn. Rosberg is going to show Button up. Button is a confidence driver, if the car is performing he does, if the car isn’t performing he slates everything and is well off the pace. Rosberg doesn’t have that problem he just drives to the best of his ability and outperforms a bad car. Perfect example this season Belgian GP, Williams had all the wrong setup for the car at that circuit and Rosberg still qualified in the top 10 and scored a point. Button can’t do that. Also Rosberg is a good car developer as well.

Comments are closed.