Rosberg still the right man at Mercedes… for now
With Ferrari taking their time over the future of Kimi Raikkonen, attention has turned to Mercedes and Nico Rosberg.
The German is out of contract at the end of this year and while both sides have also urged patience, talks so far are said to have been patchy.
The feeling is Rosberg would like a multi-year extension to his stay with the team while Mercedes only want to offer him one.
A murmuring in the paddock suggests a two-year deal has already been decided, however, nothing solid has been released.
But the talk from the drivers at least is pointing towards a continuation of the current Hamilton-Rosberg line-up.
Nico himself spoke of wanting ‘many more years’ with Mercedes in an article on Autosport, while Lewis was quoted by Sky Sports as saying their relationship was ‘really, really good’, after sharing a relaxed conversation next to the swimming pool at their apartment block in Monaco.
That comes despite some expectations of a full-scale breakdown in relations in the Mercedes garage after Rosberg won seven straight races, including the first four of 2016.
At the time it gave Nico a 43-point lead in the championship while Hamilton was disgruntled after suffering poor luck at the start of this season.
It also includes the second major coming together of the pair in Spain, though that was seen much more as a racing incident compared to the first at Spa two years ago.
So with the atmosphere seemingly much clearer and brighter than in recent times and Rosberg in the form of his life, the simple question to Mercedes is why change?
It seems fairly clear that the only driver the team realistically sees in one of its cars in the future is Pascal Wehrlein.
The young German won the DTM championship last year and regularly tests for Mercedes. He is enjoying a decent first year in F1 with Manor though whether he is ready to step up to replace Rosberg, the jury would still be out.
Certainly after one or two more years, perhaps moving up the grid in the process, then, if Wehrlein continues to fulfil expectations, Mercedes would be right to consider promoting him and by then it might be Rosberg and Hamilton who need replacing.
The only realistic reason potentially for Mercedes to want Rosberg could be a fear of his weakness in close battles.
In a dominant performance at the front he is hard to beat as was proven in Baku, but when it comes to fighting back through a field he does struggle, thinking back to Monaco and Canada.
With the 2017 rules set to close up the field even further could that favour Hamilton and another more aggressive driver perhaps for example Bottas?
Apart from that Nico Rosberg remains the perfect man at Mercedes.
If the relationship with Hamilton is as strong as ever it should push the team forward against the ever increasing competition. His technical attention to detail does compliment the style of Hamilton as well as coming in useful in situations such as the engine issues in Baku.
Is he the fastest man that could be at Mercedes? Arguably not. Though he may well go into 2017 with, not only a new contract under his belt with the Brackley-based team but also as the reigning world champion and that has to stand for something.