Mercedes left it later than usual to confirm Valtteri Bottas was driving for the team in the 2020 F1 season. Bottas had a relatively weak midseason and he admitted that this was down to uncertainty over his future. The Finnish driver had even started to talk to others to get a back-up plan in place.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, admits he must look at this and improve the situation for the following season to ensure something similar doesn't occur to one of his drivers again. This might be all the more important next season and both Lewis Hamilton's and Bottas' contract run out in 2020.
“There are better ways to go about it, and in hindsight, he said maybe it did have an impact," Wolff discusses.
"I will take that into account and try to do a better job in the future. In 2021 all the doors are open: none of our drivers have contracts with the team, so it will be a very interesting situation. I expect the driver carousel will start spinning soon," Wolff reported to Sport.de.
Hamilton wrapped up his sixth F1 world championship as a result of his finish in the United States Grand Prix. Bottas also claimed 2nd place in F1 world championship. This is his highest-ever finish.