Bottas signs one-year Mercedes contractpublished at 09:35 British Summer Time 20 July 2018
Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer
Finn Valtteri Bottas will stay at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate in 2019.
Mercedes have signed the 28-year-old to a one-year contract extension for 2019, with an option to keep him for 2020. Bottas convinced Mercedes to sign him for another season after some strong performances in the first half of this year.
Team boss Toto Wolff said: “Valtteri’s performances have been excellent. If not for our mistakes and his bad luck, he could be leading the drivers’ championship.”
Wolff’s remarks are a reference particularly to strong performances in China, Azerbaijan and Austria.
Bottas was leading in Shanghai before a mid-race safety car changed the complexion of the race and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was able to win after a switch to fresh tyres, which was not an option for Bottas.
In Azerbaijan, Bottas was leading with four laps to go when he suffered a high-speed puncture after running over some debris. And at the Red Bull Ring, Bottas was running a close second to Hamilton when his car suffered a hydraulic leak.
Image source, Getty Images
