There had been lots of rumors that Valtteri Bottas has been chosen by Mercedes to replace Nico Rosberg. Now Mika Hakkinen, one of the racers representatives, confirms that Mercedes will sign Bottas and is just waiting for the right time for the announcement. In addition, Bottas said he is ready to be a champion and defeat possible teammate, Lewis Hamilton.
After the surprising retirement of Mercedes driver and 2016 F1 Champion Nico Rosberg, it has been a crazy hunt for Mercedes to fill in the position that the champion had left. Now it seems that their search is over, according to Fox Sports, and it's just a matter of time before the signing of Valtteri Bottas will be announced.
Not So Secret After All
In an interview with MTV Finland, Hakkinen, a two-time F1 world champion who was said to be the only driver Michael Schumacher feared, confirmed his pal Valtteri Bottas is the front runner for the seat at Mercedes and negotiations are definitely occurring between two sides. When asked whether the official announcement will be made soon, Hakkinen did not want to set a date but says that everything will be closed and will be unveiled before the start of the winter tests that will begin on Feb. 27 in Barcelona.
Hakkinen admits that Valtteri Bottas' situation at this moment is unbeatable as he dominated the last three years of Formula 1. The 27-year-old Bottas has yet to win a race in 77 starts but has scored nine podiums and one fastest lap. Valtteri Bottas entered F1 with Williams in 2013 and has impressed F1 fans, consistently beating his teammate Hamilton’s 2008 championship rival, Felipe Massa.
With Valtteri Bottas signing with Mercedes, Williams will be bringing Massa out of retirement to replace him. Massa will be driving alongside partner rookie, Lance Stroll. Stroll is another exciting rider to watch out for in the 2017 season of F1 as he is the F3 champion.
Lewis Hamilton Teammate Challenger
In addition, Hakkinen believes that Valtteri Bottas is ready to beat its possible teammate and three-time F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton. He believes that Bottas in a top team like Mercedes requires more effort and fighting for wins and championships will be the driver's main business. Bottas said that he is ready and he said he can even beat his team mate, according to DailyStar.
Will Mercedes dominate the F1 2017 season again with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton? Is the F1 world bound to see a new teammate rivalry again like the Rosberg-Hamilton fight? People need to wait and see.
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