Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas said that he wants to remain Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes for the 2020 Formula One season, but at the same time if that fails he wants a drive with Ferrari next year. At the start of this season, the Finn’s chances of a new deal appeared slim, following his disappointing 2018 campaign but he has looked stronger and more consistent this season, and at Silverstone was genuinely a match for world champion Hamilton throughout the weekend.
Valtteri Bottas says he would be happy to remain Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes next year, “If it wasn’t for Lewis, perhaps I would have won more races. But to be honest, I wouldn’t change anything, because the situation helps me to progress and achieve more. I want to challenge him. I would like to extend the contract for next season,” Valtteri Bottas told Canal Plus.
Mercedes, however, is clearly looking around on the driver market, and already has the Toto Wolff-supported Esteban Ocon on the reserve bench while their other driver George Russell’s shares climb steadily. But Valtteri Bottas insisted, “I think I’ve proved to the team that I deserve to stay at Mercedes. But we will have to wait a few more races. Nothing has been signed yet, but I am trying to keep making progress so that everything should be fine.”
Notably, Valtteri Bottas said he is setting his sights very high in the event that Mercedes does not keep him, “If I have to leave Mercedes, then I would like to be at the team that is in second place. At the moment that is Ferrari.”
While the Scuderia are fiercely loyal to their drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, the German is going through a difficult period in the first half of the 2019 Formula One championship, prompting speculation he will quit the sport at the end of this season or, if not, take a sabbatical of sorts.
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