Nico Rosberg, who is expected to be confirmed as a Mercedes driver in the next few days, says he wants "to win races at least" in 2010. The German has only raced for Williams since entering Formula 1 in 2006, and he admitted he was now looking for a different challenge as well as a quicker car.
"First of all, change is good I think," Rosberg told journalists during a PR event for Allianz at the Hungaroring on Friday. "I've been at Williams for four years and it's good for me to see something else. That will give me the opportunity to see how another team works, and also develop as a driver. And I also wanted to have the opportunity to make the next step to get a car with which I can win races.
"I'm looking forward to next year, because I'm changing teams, and I think I will have a good chance of doing well and having a very competitive car, wherever I'll be driving."
Although there are some doubts whether 2009 title rivals Red Bull and Brawn GP, soon to be transformed into a Mercedes factory team after the manufacturer bought a 75.1 percent stake, will be able to maintain their strong form next season, Rosberg is convinced they should stay near the top.
"I am pretty sure that teams like Ferrari, McLaren, Brawn, which became Mercedes GP of course, and Red Bull will still be at the front next year," he said. "But I'm not sure who will be the fastest.
"Ferrari and McLaren [could be] because they've been there in the past and I think they can get back up there, and Brawn and Red Bull because they have done a very good job this year, and not only at the beginning, but developing through the season as well. They still had the fastest car at the end of the year. And they are very strong teams, with very competent people, so I'm convinced they'll be able to do it."
Rosberg admitted he found World Champion Jenson Button's decision to leave Brawn/Mercedes for McLaren "a bit surprising and [an] interesting step."
Kimi Raikkonen's management has indicated that the Finn would be interested in the vacant Mercedes GP seat, while speculation has now brought Michael Schumacher into the equation as well. Although Rosberg did not name his personal preferences, he did not deny he was interested in the identity of his teammate.
"In some ways yes, of course," he said. "Why? It's nice to have someone you can get on with, it's nice to have someone who isn't a completely egocentric person who just thinks about himself and tries to trick the other driver, because there is lots of work you have to do together."
Rosberg also talked about the important rule changes for 2010, saying the ban on refueling after 16 seasons was a positive step for Formula 1.
"I think one of the main things that's going to change is that everything will be safer for us drivers. Also for the people in the pit lane, the engineers, the mechanics, who are all standing there with the fuel rigs and everything," he said. "As we saw in Brazil this year, a couple of weeks ago, one car left with a fuel hose, and it made a huge fire on the car behind with Kimi. That's a very, very dangerous situation. It's a nice step in terms of safety to be able to avoid these sorts of incidents in the future."