Brawn asks Rosberg to have ’faith’ in Mercedes’ future

Nico Rosberg may be losing patience with Mercedes’ lagging form.

The German moved from Williams last year expecting to fight for wins with the famous marque, but - while he has shown the way to Michael Schumacher - Mercedes is not yet ready to challenge the ’big three’ teams.

"It can not go on like this," Bild newspaper quotes the veteran of almost 100 grands prix, who turned 26 on Monday, as saying after Valencia.

He added: "I have spoken with Ross (Brawn) and Norbert (Haug) and they have a clear plan about how to get this team back to the front."

But Rosberg’s strong form against Schumacher has reportedly attracted the attention of faster teams, moving boss Brawn to admit Mercedes might have to fight to keep him.

"Well, I guess I am asking for his faith," the Briton told F1’s official website, "and asking him what he sees. I am sure it is a frustration for him and he is definitely a driver good enough to win races. So it is up to us to prove to him that we know what we are doing — and we are getting there.”

"We have faith in him and I hope he has faith in us — that’s the basis we have to work on. I hope he stays in our boat because our boat is getting there!", added Brawn.