MAY 13, 2015

Rosberg happy if Hamilton signs new deal

Nico Rosberg says he is happy if Lewis Hamilton stays at Mercedes beyond 2015.

Nico Rosberg says he is happy if Lewis Hamilton stays at Mercedes beyond 2015.

After a long period of negotiation and speculation, the latest reports suggest reigning world champion Hamilton's new contract will finally be unveiled in Monaco.

But "I don't know what will happen," Italy's Autosprint quoted Rosberg as saying at the Barcelona test on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the German utterly humbled the rest of the test field, even improving his pole position time.

It is rumoured Mercedes was running a performance evolution of its already-dominant 'power unit', although a smiling Rosberg would not confirm that.

But his mood was undoubtedly also boosted by his form in the Spanish grand prix, having finally broken Hamilton's run of utter superiority.

"I don't know about all that, but I can say that I dominated the weekend and I'm very happy," said Rosberg.

But is he just as happy to hear that Hamilton is reportedly staying at Mercedes in 2016?

"I don't know what will happen," Rosberg began. "But I like to race with him. We have a good rivalry and the atmosphere within the team is good enough.

"Of course it's a hard battle," he added, "but that's what it's like in this sport."

(GMM)