Valtteri Bottas on Leaving F1’s Top Team With Unfulfilled Dreams and Real Hope

Timothy

It wasn’t a challenge Bottas was ready to step away from, either, but he says Mercedes just wasn’t as ready to commit to a long-term deal. Whether that’s a line he’s been instructed to feed us about being replaced next year by young phenom George Russell is anyone’s guess, but the Finn still knows he’ll be racing in F1 next year, and with a team that’s more enthusiastic about what he brings to the table.

“I would’ve been happy, more than happy to stay if I could have had a long-term contract, but that was not a possibility from the team’s side. So, then I started to look for other options, and it’s something new and exciting for me,” Bottas said, referring to his contract with Alfa Romeo for 2022 onward. “It’s a completely new chapter in my career. For sure, there’s a lot of work to do with a new team, but I feel like it’s the right time now to change and have something new and a new project to work on. And what is exciting is that the future is completely open, and you never know what lies ahead.”

It’s easy to be pessimistic about Bottas’ future and believe his career is past its peak. He’s heading to the oldest team on the grid to have not won any world championships; a team that hasn’t finished on the podium since 2012 or higher in the constructors’ standings than sixth since 2008—the year of its only Grand Prix win.

At the same time, F1 is strictly tightening teams’ budgets and enacting new technical regulations that will bring back ground effect cars for the first time in 40 years. Some teams will master the new aero formula, while others will flub it. Some drivers will adapt to how the new cars are best driven, others won’t. Any of these could promote Alfa Romeo up the grid, and though unlikely, push Mercedes off its throne.

“Next year is completely different in terms of the cars and it’s a bit of a reset for all the teams,” Bottas told me. “All teams are going to be more or less on the same budget for the first time. There’s less things [sic] you can do with the car because of the regulations. Aerodynamically, it’s a lot more restricted. So, in theory, the whole field is going to be a lot closer. I definitely feel like it’s impossible to predict, but it’s going to be close. So, I think it’s a great opportunity for a team like Alfa Romeo to actually make a proper step up and fight for podiums.”

“I think if I’m realistic, fighting for the world championship next year, it could be a bit of a long shot because I think there’s still a lot of work to do within the team, but in the next years, nothing is impossible. So, obviously that should be the goal in the future, but it’s going to be an interesting year and I think it’s really good for Formula One to have these new regulations, new cars, and a bit of a reset and hopefully even more closer racing.”

“I’ve been part of the winning team for many years now, in a row. I know what it requires to be at the top of the grid and how to win championships. So, I’ve learned a lot about teamwork, obviously technical things as well. So, I feel like I have quite a lot to give to Alfa Romeo in the future.”

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