Germany's Nico Rosberg puts Williams on notice

Germany's Nico Rosberg has warned his Williams Formula One team he could leave after next season if the former champions fail to give him a competitive car.

Asked whether he regretted staying with Williams for 2009, Rosberg told the official Formula One website (www.formula1.com) he had been contractually bound to the team whatever happened this year.

"Next year the cars are going to be completely spread out again because everybody starts from zero -- so I will tell you halfway through next year if I regret it or not," he said, referring to the sweeping rule changes for 2009.

"It would be fantastic if the team could change their course.

"I am not asking for a world championship-winning car, just a car that gives me the opportunity to finish in the points consistently -- and a couple of podiums would be the icing on the cake," said the 23-year-old son of 1982 champion Keke.

"The chances are there, for sure. Should 2009 not turn out as I hope it will, then naturally I have to rethink my position for 2010."

Rosberg has been linked in the past to Mercedes-powered McLaren, with Frank Williams saying in February that McLaren had made an offer of "majestic proportions" for Rosberg last year after double world champion Fernando Alonso had left.

McLaren ultimately signed Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, who has a contract to the end of next season and won this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, the only victory of his Formula One career to date.

Rosberg, a former GP2 champion like McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, started the 2008 season strongly with a third place finish in Australia. He also took second in Singapore, the sport's first night race.

The rest of the year was a disappointment however, with the German ending the 18-race season in 13th place with just 17 points while Toyota-powered Williams slipped from fourth overall in 2007 to eighth place.

"I am thankful still that on occasion my car was okay and I was able to show that I can still drive a race car, which is important as you need to keep your reputation," said Rosberg.

"On these occasions I was able to put some highlights into my overcast season, which was nice, but in general it was quite disappointing. We simply were not fast enough."