Nico Rosberg is expecting to stay at Mercedes beyond the end of his current contract, which is due to expire at the end of 2016.

Rosberg has been at Mercedes since its return to Formula One as a constructor in 2010, but has missed out on title victories to team-mate Lewis Hamilton since the team became championship contenders in 2014. Rosberg's contract is due to expire at the end of the year, but he has no plans to start looking elsewhere for a drive in 2017.

"I'm sure there are going to be many more years to go here at Mercedes," he told Sky Sports. "I feel comfortable here, I really enjoy being part of the team, we have achieved so much and there is even more to achieve in the future."

Rosberg finished last season on a high with three successive victories, albeit just after team-mate Hamilton had taken his second title in a row. But Rosberg is looking forward to another chance to beat Hamilton this year.

"Every year is a big challenge and every year is a big year. It's a great opportunity at the moment and I look forward to this challenge of going up against Lewis again, who has been driving at an extremely high level. These are the sorts of battles I relish and this is what I compete for, so that would be good.

At the end of last year Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warned Rosberg and Hamilton that he could be forced to change Mercedes' driver line-up if their battle starts to damage relationships within the team.

"But that was a long time ago," Rosberg added, "so at the moment we are of course working together because it's in our interest that the car is as good as possible to make sure there is no other opposition and it's just between the two of us. But I don't want to speak about details of ups and downs, it's always the same."