Claire Williams Hints the Move of Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes F1
Giancarlo Perlas January 15, 2017
Claire Williams, the deputy principal of Williams Racing team in Formula One, hinted that Valtteri Bottas is moving to Mercedes AMG Petronas. The driver would come as a replacement to the now-retired 2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg in Mercedes, and he will be partnered with the three-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
BBC Sport reported that when Williams was asked a question if there was already “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” regarding Bottas’ switch to Mercedes, she replied, “It is exactly that.”
Williams said that when Rosberg made an exit from the sport, she already expected a call from Toto Wolff. She added that she doesn’t want to hinder a driver who has the opportunity to race in a car that’s winning races and world championships.
However, Williams cleared out during the Autosport International Show that if they are to release Bottas, they should have the best credible option to replace him. Earlier, it was reported that Williams Racing had been courting Felipe Massa to come out of retirement. That’s because letting go of Bottas would leave them with the 18-year old rookie Lance Stroll as their other driver.
Williams refused to reveal further information about the progress of the issue with Bottas and his replacement in the team when she was pressed for more details. She assured though that they will be making announcements soon because the testing for the 2017 season is already coming up.
It should be noted that the first test for the 2017 F1 cars is set at the end of February. The races for the new season will begin on March 26 in Australia.
