Former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo feels that Finnish compatriot Valtteri Bottas’ one-year deal with Mercedes has put him in a ‘difficult position’.
Bottas signed the one-year deal at Mercedes early in January but is only fixed with the team for 2017, however he does have options on his contract should the management decide to keep the Finn onboard.
Toto Wolff has stated previously that the deal was in place so that Mercedes can keep their options open for 2018, this is when other drivers such as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel could become free agents.
“It’s just surprising, to make a one-year contract in Formula 1 nowadays,” Salo told Motorsport.com
“Everybody wants to make long-term contracts. I just don’t know what the reason is behind it. They put Valtteri in a very difficult situation, against Lewis [Hamilton], on a one-year contract. It’s not easy.
“He’s a professional guy, he has four years in Formula 1 already, so it’s not a big deal. It’s just that when you have peace of mind that you will continue, you can perform better.”
Salo also believes that Mercedes should still be at the top of the field and that Bottas needs to aim to be close to Hamilton at all times, even beating his world champion team-mate.
“[It] depends on the Mercedes quite a lot, what kind of car they can make. Let’s see how good the car is,” added Salo.
“I would imagine that it’s still the best, but then what Valtteri has to do is finish second behind Lewis all the time and even beat him sometimes.”
“I rate Lewis very highly, he’s very good in qualifying.
“I’d like to think that Valtteri is maybe even a little bit better in the race. He’s kind to the car, kind to the tyres, so he might have a good chance in the races.”
