Valtteri Bottas Aiming for Contract Extension with Mercedes

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas has admitted that he knows why Mercedes only gave him a one-year contract extension. Both Bottas and Lewis Hamilton have contracts until the conclusion of the 2018 season. Mercedes have done this possibly with one eye on the 2019 driver market. Bottas’ stellar performances meant that the German marquee saw fit to keep him on for another year.

Bottas said “I have to say I’m happy with this. I understand of course always the team’s view on things, and for sure the team also wants to have options open for the future. I understand 100%, but with this I am very happy. It’s still better than the original contract that I had. It’s still as always before with my career in F1, it’s going to be completely down to me. If I perform well, there’s going to be no problem, and we can have a long future together. I believe in myself, I believe I’ll continue to grow as a driver and be a better driver. Even this season already, I was given this one-year opportunity to make it for a second year, so that gives me confidence.”

Valtteri Bottas Says

He said that he was not panicking about losing his seat. Instead, he was just glad that the season started pretty well and the results have shown it. According to him, the team have not indicated that they were exploring other options. He admitted that this time around, negotiations were very different. The Finn also said that he was always going to agree to anything to be able to drive the quickest car, so it was a very different situation and everything was rushed.

Whether he will earn that contract extension, nobody knows. It is quite a difficult task to keep up with one of the best drivers in the world. Bottas knew that he was lucky to be drafted in the team following Rosberg’s shock exit. Now he is determined to prove to Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda that he deserves to stay.