Photo: Mercedes-Benz
What were you doing when you were 30 years old? Michael Schumacher, for example, had two titles to show following two successful seasons at Benetton. Lewis Hamilton was driving hard towards his third Drivers’ Championship title in Formula 1, but Valtteri Bottas isn’t like those two.
At 30 going on 31 years old, the Finn has signed yet another contract with Mercedes-AMG to drive for the team on a one-year basis. Although he’s driving the same single-seat land missiles as his more successful teammate since 2017, Bottas has yet to challenge for the big prize.
He won four Grands Prix in 2019, finishing second after Hamilton with 326 points to the British driver’s 413 points. The difference speaks for itself, translating to more consistency from Lewis’ part.
The gap is much closer in 2020 after four Grands Prix, but this is the moment where an older quote from Toto Wolff enters the scene. Two years ago at the Hungarian venue, the team principal and chief exec of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 called the Finnish racing driver “a sensational wingman.”
Bottas told the media he was unhappy with that comment, and the two made up soon thereafter. Given the info presented so far, why did Valtteri accept to be kept on a tight leash for one more year?
To put it bluntly, no other team on the field can offer him a No. 1 position for the 2021 season. It would also be foolish to step out of the most successful car for a second-rate racing car at his age.
Now here’s the kicker. “We are very excited that Valtteri will stay with the team for at least one more season,” declared Toto, and “at least” suggests the utmost obvious.
To the point, Merc intends to employ Bottas’ services once again for 2022 unless something better - as in a more dignified role within another team - comes up for the Finn.
He won four Grands Prix in 2019, finishing second after Hamilton with 326 points to the British driver’s 413 points. The difference speaks for itself, translating to more consistency from Lewis’ part.
The gap is much closer in 2020 after four Grands Prix, but this is the moment where an older quote from Toto Wolff enters the scene. Two years ago at the Hungarian venue, the team principal and chief exec of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 called the Finnish racing driver “a sensational wingman.”
Bottas told the media he was unhappy with that comment, and the two made up soon thereafter. Given the info presented so far, why did Valtteri accept to be kept on a tight leash for one more year?
To put it bluntly, no other team on the field can offer him a No. 1 position for the 2021 season. It would also be foolish to step out of the most successful car for a second-rate racing car at his age.
Now here’s the kicker. “We are very excited that Valtteri will stay with the team for at least one more season,” declared Toto, and “at least” suggests the utmost obvious.
To the point, Merc intends to employ Bottas’ services once again for 2022 unless something better - as in a more dignified role within another team - comes up for the Finn.
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