Lewis Hamilton - Bottas Has Earned His Place At Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - Bottas Has Earned His Place At Mercedes

22/6/2017

Bottas has been on the news some days now due to his short term contract with the silver Arrows but his teammate Lewis Hamilton says He "earned his place" at Mercedes and will become even stronger should the world champions extend his contract.

Bottas joined the Silver Arrows on a 12-month deal at the start of the year as Hamilton's team-mate following Nico Rosberg's shock retirement after winning last season's world championship.

"He has earned his place and he will continue to grow," Hamilton said.

"He has done a great job, it's only his first year with the team and he has already won a grand prix. He will continue to go from strength to strength and just needs the opportunity to do so.

"Valtteri's energy is helping create a great harmony. When he is at the factory, he brings a great energy which everyone loves and appreciates."

Bottas  reply to speculation that he is uncomfortable due to the nature of his deal

"I feel normal because every single year in Formula 1 I've had the same situation - I've had no idea at this point what is going to happen next year," he said.

"I know some kind of plan about when [Mercedes] are planning to have things sorted but that is between us. There is no rush.
"I don't know when I will know. The timeline is quite flexible but there is no rush really.

"For sure discussions will be opened soon because as a driver it's always nice to know what you are going to do next year. It's still a bit early days for that.

"For sure I'm keen to have a long-term relationship with Mercedes. That is my target and that's why every day I work hard and try to make the most out of every situation and the race weekend.. 

"I'm not in discussions with other teams."