After an impressive first season which has seen him claim two wins, Mercedes has confirmed Valtteri Bottas will remain with the team in 2018 having signed an extension to his initial one-year contract.
The Finn was whisked into the Brackley-based team at the beginning of 2017, having been the preferred choice to replace Nico Rosberg following the German’s shock decision to retire mere days after winning the F1 title in Abu Dhabi.
Since then, he has proven a worthy teammate to Lewis Hamilton both on pace and in working with the Briton as Mercedes has faced a strong challenge from a Ferrari team enjoying something of a renaissance.
Though Bottas has only been given another one-year deal, with the driver market set to be blown open by the availability of a number of key names for 2019, he was obviously delighted to see his future secured for another 12 months.
“I am honoured and proud to continue to work with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in 2018 and to remain part of the Mercedes family,” the 28-year-old said. “Together, we continue to grow stronger day by day, and by keeping up our hard work I believe the sky is the limit.
“Since joining the team in January, I’ve enjoyed every day working with them. The welcome and the support from every team member and all the fans has been invaluable. As a driver, I’ve been able to learn and grow massively, and we have already enjoyed some really good moments this season that I will never forget,” he added.
“I’ve been very impressed by the mentality, commitment and the team spirit this team holds. Partnering Lewis has also been really good, and I’m enjoying the respect we have and the will to push this team forward together.”
The relationship Bottas has been to strike up with Hamilton has been another major positive for Mercedes as the gloom of the past few years has been lifted. Though very different in terms of personality, the calm approach of the former GP3 champion has seen the two drivers have worked together, as was particularly shown in Hungary.
“We gave Valtteri a big challenge this year,” Motorsport boss and former Manager Toto Wolff commented. “Joining the team at the eleventh hour, stepping up to the forefront of F1 and pairing with the sport’s best driver as his team-mate. With that in mind, his results have been probably even more impressive.
“There have been ups and downs – more ups, fewer downs – and some great highlights like his two race wins in Russian and Austria. Overall, the balance of his performances and his upward trajectory made it a no-brainer for us to continue with him into 2018.
“For our team, the bonus factors are the respect and sportsmanship that have grown between our two drivers. The chemistry and dynamic between Valtteri and Lewis work and are what we need to take the fight to our competitors.”
Though options were limited due to the suddeness of Rosberg’s decision to retire, the drop in results at Williams last year meant some were uncertain as to whether Bottas had what it took to compete at the very front.
As it turned out, the renewed focus and motivation has seen him overcome those concerns but Bottas insists there is still plenty more he can show and aims to be even stronger next season.
“When the team hired me for the 2017 season, they took a leap of faith by putting their trust in my skills,” he acknowledged,” this new contract for 2018 shows that I’ve earned that trust.
“I’m happy to have celebrated my first race wins in a Silver Arrow. However, there’s always room for improvement and I still have not shown my full potential. I will continue to work hard on and off the track, to further improve my driving, get even better results and show that putting their trust in me was the right decision.
“I want to thank all the board members, the people at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth as well as the race team and all the fans for their support and trust. It means a lot to me.”
