On Friday morning, Mercedes released a short video on Twitter showing Rosberg and team boss Toto Wolff signing a contract, confirming his place with the German marque in F1 for another two years.
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Rosberg joined Mercedes from Williams in 2010, initially partnering Michael Schumacher before Hamilton’s arrival in 2013.
The team said before the British Grand Prix earlier this month, however, that they would not impose “team orders” on their drivers.
Rosberg has never secured a top-three finish in Hungary, while his team-mate has the weight of four wins behind him.
The 31-year-old’s extension means both he and team-mate Lewis Hamilton will remain at Mercedes until the end of the 2018 season.
“Nico has been a core member of the Silver Arrows since the team returned to the sport in 2010 and has played a crucial role in the team’s success in that time”.
Rosberg had drafted in former grand prix victor Gerhard Berger to help lead the discussions with the team, because he did not want to get distracted from his efforts of trying to win the world championship.
Rosberg holds a one-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers’ standings heading into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, down from an imposing 43 points in May.
Hamilton now heads into Sunday’s race as favourite to seize the championship lead for the first time this year.
“No, it’s not”, the German told reporters at the Hungaroring racetrack on Thursday when asked if it was fair to say he was feeling the pressure. We can all agree on the fact that so far up to now I’ve had the best season of all drivers.
“But I think from my side with the experience that I have now I know how to handle it and in my part I have Gerhard Berger who is handling it for me, specifically to make sure that I don’t lose any focus on the racing and to get the best out of it”.
The pair are dominating F1, having won nine of the opening 10 races, but their relationship is a fractious one, punctuated by a number of on-track clashes.
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Hamilton, victor of the last two races – including his home race at Silverstone earlier this month – is riding a crest of a wave and the defending champion hopes it will carry him to a record-breaking triumph on Sunday.
