Valtteri Bottas is hopeful a new driver line-up at his former team Williams can turn around their fortunes in 2019.
Last season, the Grove-based outfit endured their third-worst season in history in terms of points scored with just seven accumulated over the 21 races.
Confident the car issues with wrecked their 2018 have been resolved, Williams also welcomes Robert Kubica and George Russell in place of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.
“For Robert, it will be nice to see how it goes,” Bottas, who raced for the team between 2013-2015 said. “He’s been out of racing for a while, so it will be nice to see how he compares to George Russell.
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“I think for the team, that has had a tough year – and I know how difficult it is to keep up the motivation and the good spirit when things are tough – maybe a new drivers’ line-up will bring more positivity and things to look forward.
“I’m sure they’ll be full of energy, both drivers, for the great opportunity they’re both having. Hopefully, that will help put Williams where they deserve to be and not where they are now.”
Re-establishing themselves in the midfield is Williams’ main goal for 2019, meanwhile, Bottas has his own pressure to perform at Mercedes after going the entirety of last year without a victory.