A known quantity to Wolff, a dependable performer hitting his peak and he should get on with Lewis... why Bottas move makes sense
Monday 16 January 2017 22:47, UK
Mercedes have finally confirmed their 2017 driver line-up with Valtteri Bottas hired as Lewis Hamilton's new team-mate. The Finn, who has swapped Williams for the world champions, certainly seems the sensible choice, but is he the right choice to replace the retiring Nico Rosberg?
On the back of his move, here are 10 reasons why Bottas suits Mercedes - at least for the time being.
Quick enough to score points
Mercedes need two drivers to score consistent points if they are to see off their rivals in 2017 - after all the Constructors' Championship is what decides the prize money.
Bottas certainly has pace having won the GP3 title in 2011, dominating the second half of the season, and wouldn't have survived four years in F1 if he couldn't cut it at the top level. Whether he is quick enough to challenge Hamilton is another matter.
But at the very least, Bottas and Hamilton will form a formidable partnership and the Finn can be expected to be an ultra-reliable points collector for the Silver Arrows - in his 40 race starts across the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Bottas only failed to score points on 11 occasions.
Given the unpredictable competitiveness of the Williams in 2016, that record is highly impressive.
Known quantity to Mercedes management
Mercedes should know what they are getting with Bottas as he was co-managed by their motorsport boss Toto Wolff until his arrival at Brackley. The Austrian confirmed to Sky Sports he has now severed those particular ties.
Nonetheless, having known Bottas for the best part of a decade, the Austrian has first-hand knowledge of how the Finnish driver has dealt with the pressures of F1 and his rate of development.
As Mercedes are also Williams' engine suppliers, the team should also have plenty of data on Bottas from the past three seasons.
...with experience of Mercedes already
And it isn't only Mercedes' power-units with which Bottas is already familiar. As Sky F1's Ted Kravitz adds: "He already knows the Mercedes control electronics that Williams use, so he'll be able to work all the steering wheel buttons - which isn't a small task as there are, after all, 50-page documents educating drivers how to use all them."
Similar to Rosberg, with one crucial difference…
Both Bottas and Rosberg completed four years at Williams before moving to Mercedes, with the world champions' replacement perhaps even showing more potential than the current world champion during their respective stints at Grove.
They are also consistent, quick, and share the same type of personality which is more likely to take the 'one race at a time' mantra than to rock the boat.
But after four years of a rivalry that threatened to introduce team orders, Mercedes may be happy that their new driver doesn't share quite the same history with Hamilton.
Rosberg v Hamilton has been the dominant theme of F1 for the last three years. Every crash, every disagreement, every remark received forensic scrutiny and frequently seemed set to rip the team asunder.
Now, on paper at least, Mercedes have a much easier partnership to manage, all the while maintaining a similar level of performance.
Beats what's in front of him
An erratic Pastor Maldonado and an ageing Felipe Massa may not have represented the toughest of challenges to Bottas at Williams, but it's safe to say that he's dispatched his team-mates in impressive fashion.
The 27-year-old has never been beaten over a season on points by a team-mate - his record against his stable-mate an impressive 411 to 309. That dominance translates to Saturdays, too, emphatically out-qualifying his colleague every year. What's more, Bottas amassed nine podiums since teaming up with Massa in 2014 compared to the Brazilian's five.
Critics of Mercedes' decision may point to Bottas merely being a No 2 driver to Hamilton - something Wolff stresses isn't true - but it must be remembered that Rosberg was also supposed to be the Brit's whipping boy. Just look where we are now…
Hungry for success
Bottas may have thought his chance for a top drive had gone after missing out on a Ferrari seat two years in a row, especially when considering the talent both already in the field and coming through the junior series. But now he has this opportunity, seven years after entering the sport as a test driver, you can bet he'll be giving everything to take it.
Mercedes now have an incredibly hungry driver at their disposal for 2017, which may not have been the case had Rosberg kept his feelings secret.
Best driver available given the timeframe
Given Mercedes didn't know that Rosberg would retire until after the Abu Dhabi GP, their options were limited without breaking the bank to free someone from a contract.
Certainly Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren would have made Mercedes pay over the odds - and then some - before Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso would be released. And even then money may not have been enough.
With Nico Hulkenberg committing to Renault earlier in 2016, Sergio Perez signing a new deal with Force India and Carlos Sainz in the Red Bull stable, that left Bottas as the only driver remaining in the tier just below the current elite.
With Wolff formerly part of Bottas' management team, a former shareholder in Williams and the two teams already in close contact due to their engine deal, signing the Finn was the logical choice.
Hitting his peak
While F1 drivers have historically won titles and hit their best form in their 30s, the changing landscape of the sport means top drivers are getting younger and younger.
Bottas, however, provides the perfect in-between. Young enough to last another 10 years at the top but also possessing plenty of experience, the Finn is now at the peak of his powers at 27 years of age.
He's waited for this moment, and his time has finally come.
A potential stop-gap?
Consistent and dependable Bottas may be, but Mercedes, who did not disclose the length of the Finn's contract, will know that the worst-case scenario from this appointment is that they cut their losses at the end of the season. At which point, some of the very best drivers in the world may be on the market and available.
The contracts of former world champions Vettel and Alonso both expire in 2017 while Sainz may also become a free agent.
Bottas is solid on paper and should do the job for at least a year - but Mercedes certainly have options if they want to change.
Not so crash-happy
He may have never experienced a fierce enough Williams rivalry to heighten the chances of crashing into a team-mate, but the fact remains that Bottas has enjoyed an almost bullet-proof four years of F1.
Of his 77 races, he has only retired on a Sunday due to a crash twice - one of which was thanks to a collision with Hamilton when un-lapping himself at the 2013 Brazilian GP. Those retirements don't take other errors into account, of course, including his first-corner shunt into the back of the man who is now his new team-mate in Bahrain last season. Oops.
However, his reaction to the 2015 battles with Kimi Raikkonen, especially when he was cruelly denied a Russia podium, did prove he could stand up for himself when needed off the track - a vital quality in today's sport.
Building a Mercedes career on not necessarily being quicker than Hamilton in every race, but making fewer mistakes, eventually worked out for Rosberg - and Bottas has the qualities to carve a similar error-free path for himself.
