Valtteri Bottas turned down a bid by Renault to extend his deal with Williams for at least another year, his fifth as a race driver with the team who gave him his break in Formula 1 back in 2011 as a test driver.
The team said in a statement: “Valtteri has proved a great talent with four years’ Formula One racing experience under his belt and nine podiums to his name since the start of 2013. Valtteri remains a valuable asset to the team and will help lead the team through the big regulations changes that will be introduced in 2017.”
Speaking about the announcement Bottas said, “Firstly, I am very happy that I will be starting my fifth season racing for Williams in 2017. It’s going to be an exciting year with all the regulation changes and a great opportunity for the team to get closer to the front.”
“I’ll be giving 100% as always to the team. Thank you to Frank, Claire and the whole Williams Board for their continued trust in me. Also, thank you to everyone at Williams, as it will be nice to continue working together with everyone both at the factory and the track.”
Bottas will be the team leader, with 18 year old Canadian Lance Stroll is the second car for his F1 debut season. The Finn’s role will surely be to mentor the youngster in his rookie year.
Bottas added, “I’d also like to extend a very warm welcome from myself to Lance on joining the team. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.
“Williams is like my family. Going into next season, it will be eight years in total since I joined at the start of 2010, so it really does feel like home here. However, I still believe we haven’t yet achieved what we should, and can do together,” concluded Bottas who has nine podiums to his credit in 75 grand prix starts. A F1 victory still eludes him.
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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