Sebastian Vettel: Mercedes ends the rumours by giving a contract extension to the Austrian Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas till 2021.
According to a report published by the Motorsport, Mercedes and Valtteri Bottas have reached to a contract agreement, with the company set to deal with Lewis Hamilton’s contract next, shunning rumours of Sebastian Vettel
The final contract signing is awaited, with the deal to be for at least the 2021 season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the deal is for 2022 too, when the new regulations in F1 kick in.
This comes after Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius had virtually confirmed this during the Austrian Grand Prix “We’ll stay with our two boys” Ola told Sky Germany
Valtteri Bottas optimistic of the deal going through
Bottas has been put in some fine performances since he arrived at Mercedes. And he expressed confidence that he will be racing for them next season too. Speaking before the Styrian GP, he expressed optimism of an early deal, to avoid distraction in the current season.
“I really hope so. Obviously it’s a very special season starting so late. So, the timing is not really relevant to other seats and we’ve only done one race.”
“On the other hand there’s no rush, but also yes, time will fly by quickly and as soon as we know it, it’s going to be the end of the season. So yeah, hopefully we can do something with that and get that kind of out of my mind.
“As we’ve seen, if things drag on, it’s never a benefit. So, we can learn from that. We’ll be taking actions based on what I learned.”
Also read: Lewis Hamilton reportedly demanding a raise in his new deal with Mercedes
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff coy on the timing of the deal
“You know that always when I tell you about timings, I keep hearing every single week ‘why isn’t it done? Why isn’t it signed?'”
“And that’s why this year around, I wouldn’t want to live comment about the status of our negotiations or discussions. They’re happening. I don’t know when we’re going to announce.
