F1 Shock #1 - Bottas Signs for Mercedes!

[Julio Cipriano]

Will he play second fiddle for Hamilton?

 

[Keith Shew]

He will beat Hamilton to cross the 'Finnish' line first

Just remember, "To finish first, first you must be Finnish".

 

[Enpassant]

Another not ease going for Louis. On the other side I think that Bottas will be polite enough to not to mess up much in Mercedes policy. That move of Valteri was not to so hard to predict... but Felipe back to Williams? Radiculous! After all this tears on Interlagos... This is not good prognose for attitude of the Williams in this year...

 

[T_rac3]

Off topic question: is this a bottle of vodka standing by the telephone?
#ForzaFinlandia

#Absolut ! There's no doubt about it!

 

[fortyfivekev]

Sadly I don't think he's another Hakkinen. I expect he will be a couple of tenths off Hamilton which will be perfect for Mercedes and boring for us.

 

[ThatRacingGuy]

I'm going to **** myself if it turns out that the Mercedes is a midpack car again in 2017. (Like in 2010 until 2013 ) but i wish Bottas all the best. He is an amazing talent and he deserves this ride for sure. I won't even be mad if Bottas/mercedes dominate again. As long as Mr Sausage (HAM) doesn't win

 

[Celestiale]

I agree with Sir Frank williams and perhaps we find out if Hamilton is the best F1 driver as everybody seems to claim.

How that, if probably half the grid are better drivers then Bottas?! If we want to know how good Hamilton is, he should be up against Ricciardo, Verstappen, Vettel, Alonso....those are clearly better drivers then Bottas.
He will play the perfect second fiddle for Hamilton, never bother him or rival him for first place. Now i just want Mercedes to fail hard, otherwise it's going to become the most boring F1 season for a long time.

 

[Brent Mills]

So what exactly is the definition of "pretty Finnish"?

 

[valber]

Good luck Bottas!! Go! Go! Go...

 

[Andrew Harper]

Well like any good driver he deserves his chance with a top team. He's not a pay driver, and he has the speed. Yes he had Toto on his side but like most things in life it's who you know...

It's sad to see some drivers who spend their whole careers being touted as the next world champion but never getting the breaks they sometimes deserve so this is a great result for him.

I would imagine it will take a few races to maybe settle it and develop a relationship with his engineers (due to the late signing) but good luck to him and I hope he has a great 2017 season

The fact he never seems to get rattled will be an interesting contrast to Lewis who's much more emotional. Will be fun to see how their inter-team relationship develops.

 

[aka2k]

Is that really a shock? I mean, I don't follow F1 closely since Mika Hakkinen days and I knew Bottas was bound to sign with Mercedes since Lame-o Rosberg retired.

If anything, I believe it'll be more interesting inside Mercedes. Bottas is hardly boring when driving.

 

[Matthew Booth]

It's a good deal all round for Mercedes

Lewis can stop whining like a girl over his TM cos he's got Kovalainen 2.0 as it now.

Toto gets a bucket full of dollar $$$

You'd have to wonder if Toto has done his best for the team or his pocket with this decision.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Is that really a shock? I mean, I don't follow F1 closely since Mika Hakkinen days and I knew Bottas was bound to sign with Mercedes since Lame-o Rosberg retired.

If anything, I believe it'll be more interesting inside Mercedes. Bottas is hardly boring when driving.

I think it was only really a shock to start with as Bottas was signed to Williams for at least another year. Drivers getting out of F1 contracts is reasonably rare these days (unless it's based on a performance clause).

I agree with you though Bottas is such a cool customer he's almost the complete opposite of Lewis so it will be interesting to see how the year develops.

The other thing we haven't mentioned yet, have Williams benefited from the deal? Most likely but only they know the details.

 

[rubaru]

Do any of you wonder if Paddy Lowe's move to Williams was part of some underlying deal to get Bottas released?

 

[Andrew Harper]

Do any of you wonder if Paddy Lowe's move to Williams was part of some underlying deal to get Bottas released?

Interesting idea. Not sure why he decided to leave (apart from his official statement). There is a general view that Paddy wants to become a team principle and with Toto at Mercedes that would probably never happen. The other theory was Lance Stroll's millions were behind the deal but who knows..fun to guess though!

He did look pretty miffed after Abu Dhabi with Lewis not following his orders over the radio, whether that had anything to do with it as well?

 

[k_badam]

Well Done Vale! (that was his Live For Speed name )

 

[BlindDeadMacSlow]

Sorry but this is simply not what is really going on at Mercedes. Here's the real story:

 

[rubaru]

Sorry but this is simply not what is really going on at Mercedes. Here's the real story:

"Head actual size"

 

[Raikku]

So what exactly is the definition of "pretty Finnish"?

We tend to look quite handsome...


edit. But bigger question now is that who keep Claire happy now, Lance?

 

[aka2k]

I think it was only really a shock to start with as Bottas was signed to Williams for at least another year. Drivers getting out of F1 contracts is reasonably rare these days (unless it's based on a performance clause).

I agree with you though Bottas is such a cool customer he's almost the complete opposite of Lewis so it will be interesting to see how the year develops.

The other thing we haven't mentioned yet, have Williams benefited from the deal? Most likely but only they know the details.

I miss the days when Williams was a force in the F1.