General

Bottas not thinking about leaving: 'I want to stay in the team'

Bottas not thinking about leaving: 'I want to stay in the team'

15-07-2021 16:47 Last update: 18:18
6

GPblog.com

Life is not easy for Valtteri Bottas at the moment. Bottas' head will also be buzzing with rumours about the safety of his seat with Mercedes and the possible switch with George Russell. So Silverstone will be a good opportunity to silence his critics once again.

Future

It was a bit of a scare for those looking on Twitter. George Russell and Williams made a big announcement. It turned out, fortunately for Bottas, to be a new helmet design for the young Brit. At the press conference ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix, the Finn said, "No news for you, unfortunately, no progress. Hopefully, there will be something to report soon. But at the moment there is nothing new."

So although Bottas is still just sitting in his seat he is already being asked about potential pursuits should he not be able to secure a seat for 2022. Rallying, for example? "I don't want to think about it like that for now. I prefer to think positive. I know what I want. I want to stay in the team. For me, the best chance is to win races next year and fight for titles. If not, I will look at things outside of Formula One. I still have a few good years ahead of me. So never say never. I have always enjoyed the rally car. But rally is not easy, the others have done it all their lives," said the Mercedes driver.

Battle with Red Bull

Asked how his team is doing in relation to Red Bull Bottas says: "It's different this year. Red Bull has been strong everywhere, at any circuit. We don't expect to suddenly be clearly at the front here. We are hoping for better form than in Austria and hopefully, the new parts will bring us closer to Red Bull. We're certainly not a second ahead now like we were last year." Bottas shrouds the magnitude of the planned upgrades in mist for now: "It's nothing big, but nothing small either."