Valtteri Bottas: Mercedes Now Know How to Handle Rivalries

Bottas will swap Williams for the Silver Arrows in 2017, filling Nico Rosberg’s seat following the world champion’s shock post-title retirement.

Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, his former Mercedes team-mate who retired immediately after winning last year’s world championship, crashed into each other three times last year, forcing the team to introduce a rule that said while they were free to race both men should “respect team values”. “What I really like about this is how clean it looks but at the same time there is a massive amount of detail in all of the areas”, he said.

“EQ” is Mercedes’ new brand buzzword for its electric cars, and stands for “electric intelligence”, because “intelligence” starts with the letter Q. You’ll see this name popping up soon on all of Mercedes’ plug-in hybrid road cars. So when Nico chose to call it a day of course the initial information came as a surprise, but we quickly realized that it provided opportunity, and I think by having Valtteri in the vehicle it is an opportunity, an exciting opportunity for us.

“I really don’t know when is going to be the time. That’s the exciting thing about life”.

Hamilton’s last-lap collision with former teammate Rosberg in Austria past year forced Mercedes to tighten up its internal rules, leaving the pair free to race, albeit with deterrents in place to prevent further incidents.

Mercedes-AMG Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton in Geneva, Switzerland, January 17. “I got to go a little bit faster but it’s so gusty and it is wet”.

“I feel this year I am stronger”. There’s a championship this year, most of the drivers are still there, I don’t have to go and prove anything. “I hope that the spectacle is greater and the most competitive that it’s ever been and if it is, then I look forward to being a part of that”.

“Every now and then I have a thought about what I do afterwards”. Firstly, very proud to continue with this team. But my opinion is that I think it is.

While major issues, such as the distribution of income among the teams, remain subject to long-term contracts, Wolff says that other tweaks to enhance to show could be seen as early as this season.

“There is still a great following in Formula 1, and I’m excited for the new owners that have come in”.

“Hopefully, I’m going to get in the vehicle and not have any problems”. “You see the wind tunnel, the mock up, then the race bay when the components start coming and the vehicle starts to appear like a jigsaw”.