Valtteri Bottas is not particularly pleased with the way he undertook his previous contract negotiations. The Finnish driver has urged the Mercedes team to wrap things up this time as soon as possible. This is because he sees these talks as “a diversion” keeping him from performing well on time.
Bottas and Mercedes normally agreed to the terms and conditions at the earliest until July. Bottas ‘ most recently penned a new deal was in September 2017.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff even shouldered some of the blame, admitting it could have been better handled. Valtteri Bottas is hoping this time that his 2020 contract talks will run “smoother” and wrap up earlier than in previous years.
Why was he miffed at Valtteri Bottas about his contract situation?
Speaking ahead of the first pre-season test, he said “I’ve learned things for sure and the team has said they’ve seen how we’ve treated [ the 2019 talks] … and how we’ve expressed it.
The Finnish driver blamed’ extra-team talk too much unnecessary. That’s why he proposed keeping everything in the squad garage’s boundaries. The 30-year-old admitted early decision making was better than making it later in the year. Valtteri Bottas even warns. That it runs the risk of becoming a distraction by delaying it into August, September.
The former driver of Williams has been running back-to-back 1-year Mercedes contracts. He has the luxury of options on retaining his services, though.
According to Bottas, it becomes a win-win situation if he is comfortable in the team. He mused that having a long-term contract is a good thing, although in Formula 1. It is uncommon. The Mercedes driver has confirmed. That F1 is now a competitive competition with plenty of competitors vying for seats.
Mercedes Team leader Toto Wolff even shouldered some of the blame, admitting they could have better handled it. This time, Valtteri Bottas hopes his contract talks for 2020 will run “smoother” and will wrap up earlier than in previous years.
