Rosberg is Mercedes GP’s first driver

German driver Nico Rosberg will drive for the new Mercedes team in the Formula 1 World Championship, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced early this week.

Nico is the son of former Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg.

At the age of eight, Nico Rosberg began racing karts. From 1997 until 2000, he raced for Mercedes-Benz McLaren’s talent support program MBM team together with Lewis Hamilton.

In 2000, Nico was runner-up in the Formula A European Championship. Two years later, he entered his first car races in Formula BMW ADAC and clinched the title in his debut year with nine victories out of 18 races. As a reward, Nico got a Williams Formula 1 test drive. At 17 years old, he was the youngest driver ever to get such an opportunity.

In 2003 and 2004, Nico Rosberg participated in the then new Formula 3 Euro Series. In his first year he came home second in the rookie rankings and in 2004 he finished fourth overall. One year later in 2005, he moved up to the GP2 series which is staged alongside Formula 1 events and won the title.

Nico entered Formula One in 2006. During his first ever F1 race in Bahrain, he finished seventh and posted the fastest lap. To date, he has taken part in 70 Grands Prix, all for the Williams team.

He has scored a total of 75.5 points and achieved a second place at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix as his best Formula 1 result. The 2009 season was Nico’s best in Formula 1 so far; finishing seventh overall with 34.5 points.

“I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows re-launch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes. No other brand in Formula 1 can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing,” Nico said.

He added: “I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn. I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain on March 14, 2010.”

Team Principal Ross Brawn for his part said, “We are delighted to welcome Nico Rosberg to our Mercedes team and are very much looking forward to working with him.”

“Nico is a great talent, and with four years of experience in Formula 1, is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset. I had the pleasure of working with his father Keke during his Formula One career and it is great to see Nico following in his footsteps. 2009 was Nico’s best season in Formula 1 to date and we look forward to seeing his development continue with us at Mercedes next year.”