“It would certainly have saved a lot of energy”– Valtteri Bottas feels one-year contracts with Mercedes hurt his title chances against Lewis Hamilton

Tanish Chachra | 11/08/2021
"It would certainly have saved a lot of energy"– Valtteri Bottas feels one-year contracts with Mercedes hurt his title chances against Lewis Hamilton

“It would certainly have saved a lot of energy”– Valtteri Bottas feels his time with Mercedes would have been better if he had multi-year contracts.

Mercedes hired Valtteri Bottas in 2017 to replace the outgoing Nico Rosberg, and since then, the Finn driver has served Mercedes for four years and is now in his fifth running season with them.

Despite the lengthy service, Bottas has only been given a one-year extension every time, and he claims it hurts his ambition of winning a championship.

“It’s just speculation and it’s just guesswork based on what I’m feeling right now, but it would certainly have saved a lot of energy and a lot of unnecessary pressure,” he told speedweek.com.

“Not just focusing on the moment, but knowing you’re with the team and can focus on next year and all the improvements you want to share with the team for the future.

“It would certainly have been a different piece of mind, but it’s just speculation,” he added. Though it is unlikely he may get another extension, with George Russell’s rumours to Mercedes are gaining momentum.

On the other hand, it is a rare justification, as even Lewis Hamilton for a considerable amount of time was receiving one-year extensions, except for this year, yet he went on to win the championships.

Better than George Russell? Hard to comment

Asked by ESPN whether Bottas considers himself a better driver than Russell, but he ends up giving a diplomatic answer and talks about knowing his driving craft only.

“I don’t know any driver as well as I know myself and my driving skills, so it’s always hard to comment. You never know with the performance of the other teams how they really are and against their team-mate, it is quite tricky to know.”

“But I’m confident to say I am a good asset for the team and it definitely would be different if I wasn’t here. I’m confident with my driving skills, but I don’t make the decisions.”

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
George Russell Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Valtteri Bottas

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Don’t miss these