Valtteri Bottas insists he only needs to worry about his own performance despite suggestions Mercedes are already lining up Esteban Ocon to replace him in 2020.
With the Frenchman down to his final chance of securing a seat on the Formula 1 grid next year at Williams, the prospect of a year on the sidelines is very real for one of the sport’s rising stars.
To alleviate the disappointment, however, and as both Ferrari and Red Bull look to the future with their line-ups, it is thought Mercedes might reassure Ocon by guaranteeing him Bottas’ place with the Finn only on a one year deal with the option for a second.
“I think it’s going to be completely up to me,” he said on his future with the team. “I think that’s going to be the fact.
“If I perform the way I am personally expecting and the team is expecting then everything is good.
“If I don’t perform for some reason then that’s going to be my fault then I could be under pressure but if things go the way I want, the way I plan, there’s no worries.”
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Bottas did start 2017 strongly and arguably could have taken victory in three of the first four races but since then he has struggled to keep pace and now finds himself in a number two role to teammate Lewis Hamilton.
“I’m still trying to do the best job I can even if the title is secured or not,” he said.
“The only thing I want to do is to win races and it would be more likely to be able to do that with the title set. That’s it.
“He’s fighting for the title, and I’m not, so I hope my teammate wins the title and [I wish] all the best for him.”