It’s finally official. After weeks of being the worst kept secret in Formula One, Valtteri Bottas was confirmed as a Mercedes driver on Monday.
The Finn was the most logical choice to step up after Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement and so it has proved.
The Constructors’ champions can mostly thank Felipe Massa for getting their number one target. If it wasn’t for the Brazilian putting off his retirement and staying on at Williams, which was also announced today, the Grove team would have been much less willing to let their lead driver go.
Now, as is it, a deal has been struck, which will most likely include Paddy Lowe at a later date, and we can finally look at the implications his move has on the scene on the front of the grid.
The decision has received a mixed reaction. Some believe Bottas is the best man for the job and fully deserves his chance at the very top.
Others have been more critical, looking at his form the last year-and-a-half and how Massa was able to keep him more than honest despite being in the twilight (or so we thought) of his career.
But now officially a Mercedes driver, the situation is very different and it’s one that Lewis Hamilton should pay a great deal of attention to.
After four seasons at Williams, Brackley will provide a fresh challenge for Bottas. He had almost gotten too comfortable and with the team not maintaining its 2014 form, motivation must have been harder to find.
But now he can hit the reset button. The Finn knows he’s at a team where he can achieve his aim of wins and becoming world champion and it ought to reinvigorate him, offer that spark which would see him regain that 2014 form that earned him his reputation.
If that is the case, then Hamilton can expect his toughest teammate in years.
At his best, Bottas could match the Briton in every area. Single lap pace, race pace and race craft. That’s different from Hamilton’s last three partners Heikki Kovalainen, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg.
On his day you knew Lewis was just plain faster than all of them and even when they were closely matched, he had the ability to out-race them with his overtaking prowess.
Strategically Hamilton has sometimes struggled and it was the area both Button and Rosberg were able to exploit at different stages but Bottas comes across as a more Hamiltonesque driver.
He is also the first of the next generation, if a four-and-a-half year age gap can be considered such, to partner Hamilton.
This by itself brings its own challenges as Bottas is now the guy out to prove himself and steal the march over the Briton who plays the role of the established, done it all veteran.
Another aspect is the approach of these newer drivers. One of the main reasons Toto Wolff wanted Valtteri was he felt he would bring less conflict to the team, after a period of heated rivalry and tension within the Mercedes garage.
But I don’t think the Austrian will get entirely what he wants. For sure Bottas is mild-mannered, most Finn’s are, but in the heat of battle he is just as prepared to push a driver off the track as anyone.
Therefore, while there will be a calmer period initially, should the two get into a battle on the track that ends in controversy and/ or they get into a championship fight, maintaining that peace could be easier said than done.
Twitter: No more secrets! I’ll be driving a Silver Arrow in 2017. So happy and proud to be part of the @MercedesAMGF1 family… https://t.co/5HrozqNRmB (@ValtteriBottas)
We shouldn’t expect Bottas to walk in at Mercedes and beat Hamilton straight away, it is a step up from Williams and the atmosphere at Brackley is like few others on the grid.
However, where ever he has gone, Bottas has always impressed and we should expect the Finn to grow at Mercedes throughout 2017. He has got his big chance and now he has to take it, proving those doubters wrong along the way.
