Wolff vows to handle Bottas contracts "better" in future
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says he can handle Valtteri Bottas’s contractual situation “better” in the future, after the Finn called his career-long uncertainty “a pain in the ass”.
Bottas has been retained by Mercedes for 2020, which will extend his spell with the team to at least four seasons, but was made to wait on a decision by Wolff over whether to keep Bottas or promote Esteban Ocon alongside Lewis Hamilton.
Since joining Mercedes in 2017, Bottas’s future has been decided on a year-by-year basis, and he admitted it has had an effect on him after missing out on this year’s title as teammate Hamilton clinched a sixth championship at the United States Grand Prix.
“There was definitely uncertainty for 2020 at some point,” said Bottas. “Lots of rumours.
“I had no idea what was going to happen. I just had to wait. As an athlete, as a driver, it’s not an ideal situation.
“You can’t be completely with peace of mind and focus on the job and feel mentally free and in the right place.
“It’s tricky. When that continues, year after year, every single year of your career, at some point it’s getting a pain in the ass.
“It’s definitely nice to get the contract signed. But, it’s going to be the same story next year.
“I’m not too worried at this point because the pace is good, I enjoy the driving, I enjoy working with the team and hope they appreciate that as well.”
Bottas’s extension with Mercedes was announced ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, when F1 returned from its summer break.
Prior to that Bottas had scored four pole positions and two wins from 12 races, but trailed teammate Hamilton by 62 points in the championship after crashing out in Germany and then breaking his front wing on the first lap in Hungary.
In the seven races since the break and his future was confirmed, Bottas has not claimed any poles but has scored another two victories and trimmed Hamilton’s advantage to 57 points.
Bottas is enjoying the strongest end to a season in his four years with Mercedes but Wolff believes there will be a benefit to improving how he manages the contractual process next year.
Both Hamilton and Bottas will need new deals beyond 2020, while Ferrari's drivers and Red Bull's Max Verstappen will also be on the market.
“With Valtteri there is a better way to deal with that,” said Wolff. “Now, in retrospect, you can say it probably had an effect. And I will try to consider that, and make a better job in that respect.
"I think 2021 the door is wide open, no drivers are contracted to any team, that’s super exciting, and I guess that the driver carousel is going to start pretty soon.”
Previous article
Massa: Leclerc could win first title before Verstappen
Next article
What next for Lewis Hamilton after F1 retirement?
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Valtteri Bottas |
| Teams | Mercedes |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
The Barcelona practice times that prove Red Bull has hidden pace
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Friday practice for the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix, but there was one major encouraging sign for Red Bull. However, making good on that gain will require Max Verstappen to avoid repeating a mistake that left him well down the FP2 order...
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his teammate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon.
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight.
The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix
Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition
Portuguese Grand Prix driver ratings
The 2021 Portuguese GP will for several drivers go down as a weekend of missed opportunities amid imperfect track conditions that caused struggles with tyre warm-up. But the performances of a select few stood out from the crowd
The five key tests Hamilton passed to claim Portugal victory
Just as he did in 2020, Lewis Hamilton had to come from behind to win the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix. Only this time there were two rivals he had to pass, among the several challenges he had to overcome, on his way to securing a 97th grand prix victory
The data that leaves both Red Bull, Mercedes uncertain of supremacy
Lewis Hamilton topped the crucial FP2 session on Friday as F1 returned to Portugal, but his Mercedes team cannot be sure it has the edge on its Red Bull rivals. As cool temperatures and wind combine with the still-slippery surface to present drivers with quandaries over set-up and tyre warmup, there's still everything to play for come qualifying.
How in-form Norris is staking his claim as Britain's next F1 champion
As a highly-rated Mercedes junior, George Russell is naturally billed as Lewis Hamilton's heir apparent where Britain's next Formula 1 champion is concerned. But he may face competition for that accolade from Lando Norris, fresh from a confidence-boosting run to third at Imola whose rise is being accelerated by his McLaren team’s revival
