Nico Rosberg has signed a new contract to keep racing for Williams until at least the end of 2010, a German newspaper revealed on Sunday.

"Oh yes, thank you," the 22-year-old responded when congratulated on the new two-year deal by Bild am Sonntag.

"That was supposed to be a secret," he laughed.

"I am looking forward to two more years here with Williams."

Rosberg had been linked with a switch to McLaren, but was always firmly under contract to his Oxfordshire based employer for 2008.

The young German admits that his deal for next season, signed before he made his grand prix debut last year, is not particularly lucrative.

"I wanted to come into formula one at any price," Rosberg said. "Now Williams has decided to make me a great offer for 2009, and I have accepted it."

Williams co-owner Patrick Head has reiterated that his team are not even considering selling Nico Rosberg to rivals McLaren.

Although Rosberg is already under a firm contract for 2008, and the man himself has insisted that he sees even his long-term future at Williams, that has not stopped rumours that the German could still be sold to McLaren.

But speaking to ESPN, Head has made it clear that neither he nor team boss Frank Williams have any interest in off-loading Rosberg - and they believe that any financial benefit they would gain would be cancelled out by the loss of competitiveness they would suffer in losing him.

Nico Rosberg has declared he wants to lead former world champions Williams back to the front of Formula 1.

The 22-year-old German saw his stock rise sharply in his second season in the sport in 2007 as he established himself as a consistent points scorer as Williams enjoyed a renaissance.

His consistent form led to strong suggestions that he could be McLaren’s prime target to replace Fernando Alonso alongside Lewis Hamilton for next season – but such talk was soon batted away by Williams and it subsequently reconfirmed him in its 2008 line-up.

Rosberg admits that he was flattered to be drawing interest from F1’s top teams – but insists he is focused on his career at Grove.

Sir Frank Williams on Friday diminished the prospect of a move to McLaren for Nico Rosberg even further.

The eponymous Oxfordshire based team's boss and co-owner vehemently told the German publication Sport Auto that he is not interested in selling the 22-year-old's 2008 contract to Ron Dennis -- even for an impressive multi-million dollar price tag.

Alongside names including Heikki Kovalainen, Adrian Sutil and Pedro de la Rosa, German-born Rosberg had been touted as a frontrunner to replace Fernando Alonso at Mercedes-powered McLaren for 2008 and beyond.

But Williams, 65, insisted: "How am I going to go with that to the people in the factory, and to the sponsors?

For Williams team mates Nico Rosberg and Alexander Wurz, the 2007 season was one of mixed emotions. Rosberg’s rising star continued to shine, the German youngster showing some breathtaking qualifying pace and recording his best race finish to date.

Wurz, however, decided to finally call time on his Formula One race career, despite scoring the team’s only podium of the year in Montreal. Both men reflect on their contrasting ’07 fortunes…

Nico Rosberg, Williams
Championship position: 9th (20 points)
Best race result: 4th (x1), Best qualifying: 4th (x1)

Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima have been confirmed as the Williams race drivers for 2008.

The announcement aims to put an end to speculations that Rosberg would be transferred to McLaren next season.

For the young German, son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, this will be the third season with Williams. For the 22-year-old Japanese,
this will be the first full season in Formula One, having been the official test and reserve driver for Williams in 2007.

"I am delighted to confirm that Nico will be racing for the team for his third consecutive year after demonstrating impressive and widely
applauded form in 2007," team owner Frank Williams commented.

Nico Rosberg
2006 - 17th, 2007 - 9th (+8)

Williams chiefs are not even contemplating letting Nico Rosberg depart to McLaren for the 2008 season.

That is the insistence of the Grove-based team's co-owner and engineering boss Patrick Head, who addressed increasing speculation that the 22-year-old German would be an ideal replacement for Fernando Alonso next year.

The Williams Toyota team have today secured fourth place in the 2007 FIA World Constructors’ Championship. In a thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg delivered another flawless performance, driving his FW29 home to fourth place, having started in tenth, the best finish of his Formula One career to date.