Mercedes confirm Valtteri Bottas for 2021 F1 season

Valtteri Bottas is looking forward to battle for Formula One world championship next season after Mercedes on Thursday announced that he would be racing for them until at least the end of 2021. Mercedes made it clear that they would be retaining the 30-year-old Finn fort a fifth successive season in what is likely to be an unchanged line-up for them.

Mercedes are likely to continue with six-time world champions Lewis Hamilton; whose contract ends at the end of the year. Team boss Toto Wolff said that Valtteri is an important step in retaining strength for the future while praising his work ethic.

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“I’m confident that we have the strongest driver pairing in F1 today and signing Valtteri is an important first step in retaining this strength for the future,” said team boss Toto Wolff in a statement ahead of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

“Valtteri is a hard-working, straightforward guy who has a good relationship with the entire team including his team-mate, which is not a given when both drivers are fighting for the championship.”

Hamilton leads Bottas by 30 points after four races and is heading for his fourth consecutive win on Sunday when Silverstone hosts a Grand Prix for second weekend in a row.

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Bottas, who was overall runners-up in 2019, won the season-opener in Austria and has won eight races with Mercedes since joining them in 2017. 

“The past few years have been all about continuous improvement, working on every aspect of my performance. I’m confident that today I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, but I can always raise the bar,” he said.

“I’m in the fight for the title this year and staying with Mercedes puts me in the best possible position to compete for it next season as well.”