After the shocking news world champion Nico Rosberg had decided to retire, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was hotly tipped to become the driver to fill the void at Mercedes. While many have questioned it, I delve into why Bottas is Mercedes best choice.
The argument those doubters make is Bottas, who is now widely expected to be Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate, hasn’t shone brightly at Williams against Felipe Massa nor had any spectacular results to shout home about.
However, many had questioned Rosberg for the same reasons when he joined Mercedes back in 2010. He had never won a race and just one podium appearance to his name.
Bottas came into Formula One in 2013 having had a very successful junior career. The Finn won the F3 Masters twice in 2009 and 2010, scored a podium finish in Macau and also claimed the GP3 title in 2012 with the Lotus ART team at the first attempt. This helped promote him to the race seat at Williams, after spending three years as their development driver replacing the outgoing Bruno Senna.
While his first campaign in the sport did not yield too many results to shout home about, qualifying third on a wet Saturday in Canada and an eighth place at the United States Grand Prix in Austin certainly got people’s attention, outshining teammate and race winner Pastor Maldonado.
2014 was a much better season in terms of results, with Williams having a good chassis and the highly coveted Mercedes power unit, six podiums helped firmly put him on the map with many tipping him as a future champion.
A further three podium appearances since means Bottas has proven to be a highly regarded talent within the F1 paddock and it certainly wasn’t a surprise that Mercedes came calling when the chance presented itself.
It is no secret that Toto Wolff is involved with the management of the young Finn and that has no doubt helped in the continued negotiations with Williams in attempting to secure his services for 2017.
Mercedes are looking for the best driver possible to fill the void that Rosberg has left behind, someone who can pick up solid points, podiums, is consistent but most important of all, can push Lewis Hamilton hard.
A new generation of regulations present themselves in 2017 and it is very much an unknown as to whether Mercedes can continue their dominance or if another team like Red Bull can give the German manufacturer the competition they have long sought after.
Bottas would also be less likely to make the waves we have seen within the team in recent years. Rosberg and Hamilton had a history with each other as they battled for world championships between themselves, that mean tensions in the team grew. If the same scenario were to happen from next season with Bottas in the team, the situation could be very different.
This is something Mercedes will now look to have as they focus their efforts on a straight fourth world title challenge.
His speed, cool head and great consistency make him Mercedes’ best choice to replace Rosberg, especially if the team can provide the right car. Hamilton and Bottas will make a partnership that could rival Ricciardo and Verstappen at Red Bull.
Williams will no doubt drive a hard bargain before the Finn can leave the team, but with talk of Massa’s return now all but confirmed, it leaves Bottas free to make the move to Mercedes, although they have continually stated they won’t announce a replacement until the new year.
Should the move go ahead, however, Mercedes will have found their most ideal driver to partner Hamilton and drive them forward into the future.
