With all this talk of Jenson Button looking at a move to McLaren, what of the recent rumours that linked both Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen, who is now officially out of a seat after the Scuderia announced the long speculated signing of Fernando Alonso to race alongside Felipe Massa in 2010? And what about the possibility of Williams hot star, Nico Rosberg?

Well, according to Mercedes team boss, Norbert Haug, anything is still possible, but that said, they don’t want anyone who is simply money orientated to join the team and will more likely than not steer away from them. Who he is actually talking about is not quite clear, however it is known that Jenson Button is chasing more money than Brawn are able to pay and Kimi Raikkonen is demanding a figure too high for Toyota.

"Kimi is an option, but there are lots of options around. One thing is for sure, though - guys who are out for money are not the right ones for us, whoever it may be; I won't name anyone, but we want to have full commitment from someone who is success-oriented and not someone who is saying, 'I am a big name, pay me a lot of money and I will drive for you,' Haug told Autosport. "The team has to be convinced that a driver is hungry, motivated, focused and that his first thought is not to get more money.”

According to Haug, the Woking based squad has certainly shown just how competitive they are over the course of the year when they started off so far behind in the season opening Australian grand Prix only to be in strong contention for third place at this weekend’s season finale.....

“We have shown our level of competitiveness - Lewis has scored race wins and podiums and beaten the guys that have been going for the title this year. It shows that we are going in the right direction; we have stabilised this year and we have a seat to offer in a race-winning car - there are probably three, four or five teams, maximum, that can offer that."