A new name has emerged as the favourite to replace Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Read Motorsport has been told.
Valtteri Bottas is understood to be closing in on the Silver Arrow seat for 2017 with Pascal Wehrlein taking the Finn’s current drive at Williams. While the deal is yet to be done, the likelihood was believed to be around 70%.
Bottas would not be a surprising option. After Rosberg’s shock retirement announcement last week, many had hopes that Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel could be teased out of their contracts.
However, while publicly acknowledging widespread interest for their vacancy, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was quoted by Autosport as saying he doesn’t want to “interfere” with the internal issues of his team’s rivals.
It is also believed that the big name drivers even if interested in the Mercedes set are too tightly locked into their current contracts.
In the same article, Wolff, who is also one of Bottas’ managers, described going for the 27-year-old as the “least likely option” but that may have been an elaborate double bluff.
Bottas really came to fruition as a future star with impressive performances in 2014 as he scored six podium results, convincingly beating his then new teammate Felipe Massa in the process.
The past couple of years has seen the Finn’s form drop off a little from his initial burst onto the scene, however, he has always been considered as a future Mercedes or even Ferrari driver at one point.
Going for Bottas also makes more sense for the Constructors’ champions because a deal that can gratify Williams would likely cost significantly less than buying out another driver’s contract. As the engine supplier, Mercedes can offer a driver (Wehrlein) and other recompenses for taking the Grove team’s lead driver with limited choice to replace him.
For Wehrlein, despite what would be the obvious disappointment of missing out on the Mercedes seat, going to Williams would still be a huge step up from his inaugural year at Manor.
The German would also likely be seen as the lead driver alongside 18-year-old Lance Stroll who steps up from F3.
For Bottas, though, should this move be confirmed, it would be the opportunity to fulfil his career goals. Mercedes will remain title contenders, though the new rules may impact their advantage, and it will be up to him to prove his talents alongside arguably the toughest driver on the grid in Lewis Hamilton.
