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Will Valtteri Bottas get some good news on his birthday?

Will Valtteri Bottas get some good news on his birthday?

28-08-2019 09:59
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Matt Gretton

Editor-in-Chief

Valtteri Bottas is still unsure if he'll still be in a Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton. If he could pick a day for the announcement, he'd probably pick today so he can get a special 30th birthday present. 

After winning in the GP3, Masters of Formula 3 and the Formula Renault Series, Bottas got a test role in 2012 for Frank Williams' stable. Bottas performed well in that year and was promoted to a permanent driver in 2013. A seventeenth place did not put his debut in much sunlight, but the following year would lead to his real breakthrough.

In 2014, Bottas was on the podium six times for Williams and he finished fourth in the Formula 1 world championship. With the sudden announcement of Nico Rosberg's retirement after he won the 2016 world championship, a seat at Mercedes needed filling. Bottas provided the ideal replacement because in his first season he played the perfect second violin alongside champion Hamilton. Bottas took three victories and started from pole four times. Third, in the rankings was an okay start to his career with a top team.

However, it all had to be a lot better and so the pressure was on the shoulders of the Finn in 2018, but he didn't handle it well. A crash in Melbourne's qualification started a line that would continue that season, with even more errors, bad luck and team orders. Bottas was on pole twice, but did not win a race and only finished fifth in the rankings.

In 2019 the Finn started the season reborn, but during this year it became clear again that the Finn struggles to keep up with Hamilton. Esteban Ocon is knocking at the door, but why would Mercedes put an ambitious young dog next to Hamilton, if the cooperation with the constantly improving Bottas goes perfectly? The expectation is that Bottas will also sign, as a result of which Mercedes will see Ocon leave for Renault.