Nico Rosberg to team up with Lewis Hamilton for 2 more years at Mercedes

Mercedes to continue with pairing of Rosberg and Hamilton for two more years

Nico Rosberg is set to stay alongside championship leader Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season after the dominant Formula One team indicated both drivers were signed up for some time to come.

Mercedes is set to deal a knockout blow to speculation it might replace Nico Rosberg with Fernando Alonso in 2015.

When the Alonso rumours first emerged in Barcelona two weeks ago, team chairman Niki Lauda insisted Mercedes has "long term contracts" with both German Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg, son of 1982 world champion Keke, joined Mercedes from Williams in 2010.

At the end of 2011 the team announced he had signed a "multi-year contract extension to include the 2013 season and beyond".

It had been assumed that the 28-year-old's current contract would expire at the end of this year although there has been regular speculation about an extension in recent months.

Rosberg won the season-opening race in Australia and has finished the last four Grands Prix as runner-up to Hamilton, who is in his second year at the team after replacing retired seven times champion Michael Schumacher.

Britain's Hamilton leads Rosberg in the championship by three points ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, the sixth race of the year which the German won from pole position in 2013.

The move seems to be a clever one for Mercedes, as Rosberg hasn't finished below second place this season, helping the team capture wins in all five races thus far and achieve four consecutive one-two finishes.

We'll see how having that clear head affects Rosberg, when he takes to the winding streets of his home city, Monaco, at this weekend's Monaco Grand Pix.