Though it has yet to be officially confirmed, it is understood that Nico Rosberg has agreed a new two-year deal with Mercedes.

The German, who joined Mercedes in 2010 from Williams, had to wait until 2012 before he scored his first victory (China).

The raft of new rules for 2014, the biggest in the sport's history, has seen Mercedes take five successive victories and with the opposition looking unlikely to come to terms with the German team it is highly possible that not only will it win both championships but also make history in terms of how many wins it manages in a single season.

The downside to this is that the fight between Rosberg and his teammate Lewis Hamilton for the title has already seen a slight cooling in their relationship, a situation not helped by comments made by the Briton yesterday when he claimed he is hungrier than his teammate whilst citing the German's privileged upbringing.

While the comments and the new deal might give Rosberg added impetus one cannot help but recall the new deal agreed by Rubens Barrichello in 2002 the Brazilian controversially moving aside for teammate Michael Schumacher just ahead of the finish line at the Austrian Grand Prix just 48-hours later, a move that was widely condemned and saw the Maranello outfit up before the FIA.

In the eyes of many, Barrichello's new deal was essentially an agreement to ride shotgun for his German teammate, one hopes that Rosberg has not agreed to a similar pact.

Chris Balfe