Valtteri Bottas will be leaving Mercedes at the end of the 2021 season, intends to gift his teammate Lewis Hamilton before he goes.
Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 after Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement announcement after winning the championship in 2016. Since then, the Finn, along with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has helped secure the fourth consecutive constructor championship for the team.
Before Bottas leaves for Alfa Romeo in 2022, he is determined to leave a parting gift for Mercedes in the form of a fifth constructor’s title.
Also read: Valtteri Bottas reveals the reason why chose to join Alfa Romeo instead of Williams for 2022
The Finn driver has won 10 races out of his 176 starts for Mercedes, although only one of those wins came at the Turkish Grand Prix this season.
Bottas has had a tough season in 2021. While he did manage a win in Turkey, the rest of the year has been plagued with a lot of bad luck during races. This is precisely why the Finn race driver wants to do his best in his remaining time with the Silver Arrows.
Valtteri spotted after the race in Qatar.
Believe me, Valtteri, we all wish we could give you a hug. We love you.#ValtteriBottas #QatarGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/PLJqwneOCO— Ashmit Dyes (@AshmitDyes) November 24, 2021
“It is an important thing for me,” said Bottas to RacingNews365.com. “Even though I know I’m leaving. I’m still not giving up on any goals and what we have for this year.
“A fifth [Constructors’ title] together in a row would be something really special to be a part of. Would be better than four, so that’s definitely a goal, and it’s also a motivation for me to keep pushing.”
The fight is on between Red Bull and Mercedes
Even though Mercedes holds the lead in the constructor’s standings with two remaining races, Red Bull is not far behind and is closing the gap with every race.
With the last two tracks, namely the Jeddah street circuit and the Yas Marina circuit demanding tremendous straight-line speed, Mercedes are favoured to emerge victorious in these tracks.
However, nothing is set in stone. This year has shown that precedents set by previous years have not held up this year. Tracks that were thought to favour one particular team have seen others being successful on them.
Bottas is fighting Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for third place in the championship. The Mexican driver currently trails him by 13 points, and McLaren’s young Briton Lando Norris is not too far off.
Bottas will be moving to Alfa Romeo next season, where he will partner up with the Chinese rookie driver Guanyu Zhou.
Also read: Alfa Romeo boss states the colossal commercial appeal Guanyu Zhou is bringing to his team
