Having signed the contract for 2020, Mercedes say Valtteri Bottas knows what he needs to improve on to challenge Lewis Hamilton.

This week, rumours which began a week earlier were confirmed as the Finn was announced as staying at the German manufacturer with reserve driver Esteban Ocon switching to Renault.

It was a decision that came as quite a relief to Bottas, who had struggled a little in the races before the summer break, however, team boss Toto Wolff touted his overall improvement compared to 2018.

“Obviously it is not a thing that has been decided in a day. It took several months of looking at data and the several options,” he told Sky Sports.

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“In the end, it felt the right thing to do. Valtteri has performed well in most of the races - his qualifying record is really good this year.

“He's a stable and great member of the team, always contributing and he deserves a place in a Mercedes.”

What can't be ignored, however, is the gap that still remains between Bottas and teammate Hamilton, which sits at 62 points in the championship with the Briton winning eight races to Valtteri's two.

“You can see on some tracks when it's about tyre [degredation] that it is maybe a little bit worse than Lewis,” Wolff conceded, offering an explanation.

“But then on the smooth tracks, he is really a force to be reckoned with, he is completely aware of that. He knows he needs to tackle them.

“For me, personally, his rate of improvement is exceptional. This is also one of the reasons he deserves to be in a Mercedes.”