By: Staff Reporter
Formula 1’s crazy season is well underway, and Valtteri Bottas’ announcement of joining Alfa Romeo is set to trigger more team changes.
His seat with the Silver Arrow of Mercedes is expected to go George Russell from Williams, who is expected to be replaced by Red Bull’s Alex Albon. Bottas replaces his countryman Kimi Raikkonen, who announced that he would be retiring from the sport at the end of the season.
The Finns’ time with Mercedes had its ups and downs as he mostly found himself playing second fiddle to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton over the past five years.
The team announced on its website that at the end of the 2021 Formula One season, Valtteri Bottas will leave the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team after five highly successful seasons.
“We will bid farewell to a brilliant teammate and colleague as he moves on to a new chapter in his F1 career at Alfa Romeo Racing.
Valtteri joined the team at the beginning of 2017, and to date, he has scored nine race wins, 54 podiums, and 17 pole positions with us,” the team said.
“His contribution to the team has been immense, with his passion, dedication, and Finnish fire out on track playing a pivotal role in Mercedes winning four consecutive Constructors’ Championships. Furthermore, Valtteri’s partnership with Lewis Hamilton will be recorded as one of the most successful in the sport’s history. But for now, we continue to focus on the fight we have across the remainder of this season as we bid to claim our eighth consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships.”
Reflecting on his journey with Mercedes, Bottas said he was proud of everything he had achieved with the team, and it was not over yet.
“We have our biggest challenge so far to try and claim our eighth constructors’ title. When I look back on my time with Mercedes, I want to be able to say that I squeezed every drop out of this opportunity and left nothing on the table; and I want to make sure that we finish our time together as champions,” he said.
“It has been a privilege and a great sporting challenge to work with Lewis, and the harmony in our relationship played a big part in the constructors’ championships we won as teammates. Later this year, the time will come to say goodbye -that’s not for now, but I would like to thank Toto and the team for the respect in how we took the decision together. I am really pleased to have chosen my new challenge with Alfa Romeo, an exciting and iconic manufacturer, and by the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid. I’m as hungry as ever to race for results and for wins when the time comes. But for now, my mission is clear: maximum attack for Mercedes, all the way to the final lap in Abu Dhabi,” Bottas added.
Team Principal Toto Wolff said it was not an easy decision to make to let go of Bottas. He said Bottas had done a fantastic job over the past five seasons, and he has made an essential contribution to the team’s success and growth.
“Together with Lewis, he has built a benchmark partnership between two teammates in the sport, and that has been a valuable weapon in our championship battles and pushed us to achieve unprecedented success. He would absolutely have deserved to stay with the team, and I am pleased that he has been able to choose an exciting challenge with Alfa next year to continue his career at the top level of the sport; when the time comes, he will leave us with huge goodwill from every single member of the team, and he will forever be part of the Mercedes family,” said Wolff.
Hamilton took to Twitter to pay tribute to the Finn, describing him as the best teammate.
He tweeted: “I’m immensely proud to have worked alongside @ValtteriBottas for the last 5 yrs. We’ve been part of a team that has delivered 4 Constructors’ Championships and we’ve motivated one another to keep pushing through the ups & downs. Thank you VB let’s finish strong.”
I’m immensely proud to have worked alongside @ValtteriBottas for the last 5 yrs. We’ve been part of a team that has delivered 4 Constructors’ Championships and we’ve motivated one another to keep pushing through the ups & downs. Thank you VB🙏🏾 let’s finish strong. pic.twitter.com/4YRJAhCzSN
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 6, 2021
