Valtteri Bottas Switches To F1 Mercedes Team, Who Will Replace Him In Williams?

It was revealed by the Williams F1 deputy team principal that Valtteri Bottas will be joining the Mercedes 2017 line-up and is nearing completion for his contractual admittance into the competition's team. In fact, Mercedes already contacted Williams about Bottas' transfer since last year.

The Announcement. Talking at the Autosport International. Claire Williams revealed that Valtteri Bottas is currently finalizing his contract in joining the 2017 F1 Mercedes team for this year's racing season. When asked about the reason behind the transfer, Williams revealed that Bottas wanted to be a part of the team that was actually winning world championships. "For us, you don't want to stand in the way of a driver who has the opportunity to go and race finally in a car that's winning races, it's winning world championships," she said.

Williams likewise revealed that Bottas was already under the watchful eye of the Ferrari team since 2015 but he agreed to stay with the team when he was given his F1 debut during such time. However, by the fourth quarter of last year, Mercedes already contacted Williams about Bottas transferring to the 2017 F1 Mercedes team by 2017, reported Motor Sport.

Williams Team in the Future. Upon hearing that Bottas was leaving the team, Williams assured that her team is aiming to replace him with a credible option that would inspire the best structure that supports its future in the F1 racing world.

In other news, BBC reported that upon the retirement of Nico Rosberg from the F1 Mercedes team, Williams already anticipated that Toto Wolff, the boss of the competing team, was going to consider Bottas to serve as Rosberg's replacement. Once Bottas would be officially a part of the Mercedes team, the Williams team would be left with 18-year-old Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa who already retired earlier on. Per Claire Williams, the F1 Williams team would announce who would be replacing Valtteri Bossas who is bound to join the F1 Mercedes team once his contracts are finalized.