Valtteri Bottas has been getting used to life at Mercedes. In Stuttgart this week he even got to try one of the W08’s slightly earlier predecessors.
Can you come up with the best caption for this picture? Post your funniest suggestion in the comments below.
A selection of the best will feature in a future edition of the F1 Fanatic Round-up.
Caption Competition
- Caption Competition 266: Verstappen’s team mates
- Caption Competition 265: Grin and bear it
- Caption Competition 264: Maxsplaining
- Caption Competition 263: Mercedes go underground
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Philip (@philipgb)
18th February 2017, 11:55
Mercedes gets to work on the next rashly thought out rule change in case 2017’s rules don’t fix the racing.
Alex
18th February 2017, 15:05
Lewis, are you sure there’s no no:1 driver? I can’t help but think I’m not getting the same updates.
G Breese (@breesegp)
18th February 2017, 11:59
Valtteri gets to grips with the ‘state of the art’ Mercedes simulator
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
18th February 2017, 18:15
‘Nuff said
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
18th February 2017, 12:00
Having test driven his W08, Bottas is now more skeptical over Wolff’s claims that he will give both his drivers ‘equal status’
Anatoli68 (@anatoli68)
18th February 2017, 12:00
Bottas founds the handling to be vastly improved compared to his last year ride.
Lucien_Todutz (@lucien_todutz)
18th February 2017, 17:20
Winner! =))
knoxploration
18th February 2017, 22:47
This one. This is the one.
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
19th February 2017, 12:53
Ha ha ha! Good one.
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1)
18th February 2017, 12:00
Bottas was starting to wonder whether he should have read the clause on equal treatment before signing the contract.
Max Grime (@maxgr15me)
18th February 2017, 12:01
“I’m not sure this is what they meant by bigger tyres, but you guys know what you’re doing I guess”
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
18th February 2017, 12:03
”This is not what Toto told me about the 2017 car…”
Eggry (@eggry)
18th February 2017, 12:08
Bottas is in danger of penalty due to unsafe release.
Dim sim (@dimsim)
18th February 2017, 12:08
Sorry i cant drive a manual
Hugh (@hugh11)
18th February 2017, 12:11
“I knew you’d give Lewis the better parts but this is just ridiculous”
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
18th February 2017, 12:15
This is pretty good
nelson piquet
18th February 2017, 15:19
honestly
myxtiom (@myxtiom)
18th February 2017, 16:13
hahaha
Derek Edwards
18th February 2017, 12:13
Before leaving Williams for the last time Valtteri takes the opportunity to sit in the chassis Frank has put aside to thank Felipe for coming back from retirement.
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
18th February 2017, 12:14
Bottas is caught taking a sneak peak at the new McLaren Honda
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
19th February 2017, 22:30
Shots fired!
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
18th February 2017, 12:14
Upon seeing the 2017 test car, Valteri wondered if the usual sandbagging had gone a little too far this year
G Breese (@breesegp)
18th February 2017, 18:30
Maybe it’s just a really sophisticated camo livery like red bull ran last year…
hzh (@hzh00)
18th February 2017, 12:15
“Now where are the 1000 horses you promised me to drive guys?”
hzh (@hzh00)
18th February 2017, 12:17
“Still more grip than last year’s Pirelli’s.”
just.daz (@nemo87)
18th February 2017, 12:18
Maybe Anthony Hamilton was right..
Cyberaxiom (@dave-m)
18th February 2017, 12:20
Bottas in pole position for the hipster grand prix.
Clay
18th February 2017, 12:23
After his seat fitting in Mercedes’ 2017 race car Valteri questioned the decision to let Paddy Lowe go…
Santiago
18th February 2017, 12:24
Valtteri Bottas remembering not so old times.
WimB
18th February 2017, 12:24
Fernando is faster than you!
pablopete (@pablopete)
18th February 2017, 12:32
Bottas feared he would be treated as a number 2 driver, his 2017 car confirmed his fears.
Joao (@johnmilk)
18th February 2017, 12:33
VB: Is this where I open the DRS?
Eric (@fletch)
18th February 2017, 12:34
Mercedes gives Bottas a weak opportunity to race LeMans in 2017 using old Nissan technology
Ruben
18th February 2017, 12:36
Nico told me if I master this, I can pass Lewis at the start.
Dettybo
18th February 2017, 12:44
So, if Lewis drives this I ‘might’ have a chance of beating him?
hzh (@hzh00)
18th February 2017, 12:46
“I suppose this is why Nico left.”
toshnak
19th February 2017, 18:16
ha, good one!!
tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
18th February 2017, 12:48
The launch of the 2017 car was broadly positive, but Bottas worried that the Pirellis remained the weakest link.
HK (@me4me)
18th February 2017, 12:49
“So this is the extra gear they talk about.”
Robbie (@robbie)
18th February 2017, 12:59
‘These Pirellis’ are much wider then the previous year’s.’
PaulK (@paulk)
18th February 2017, 12:59
Sorry, I can’t drive stick.
Robbie (@robbie)
18th February 2017, 13:02
The new Merc has so much downforce VB is surprised at how high the centre of gravity is. The advantage…better view of the surroundings.
Robbie (@robbie)
18th February 2017, 13:11
Uh oh, I get it now…W08 stands for WAIT.
Tiomkin
18th February 2017, 13:12
Bottas is finally convinced that he’ll get the same car as Hamilton.
Niall Geoghegan (@ncwg)
18th February 2017, 13:22
Listening to fans, the FIA announce new regulations to bring F1 “back to the good old days”
Balue (@balue)
19th February 2017, 10:30
Right on :)
Dean Stewart (@dean111181)
18th February 2017, 13:28
“I wish James Allison had started a few months earlier…”
Evil Homer (@)
20th February 2017, 12:54
Nice !!
schooner (@schooner)
18th February 2017, 13:36
Bottas does his best to hide his disappointment … he was hoping Mercedes would provide him at least with an SLS-AMG as his daily driver.
Yoseph
18th February 2017, 13:41
Er…. Totto, I thought you said you use dummies for a crash test?…
GeeMac (@geemac)
18th February 2017, 13:43
Valtteri was starting to doubt whether he was actually getting the same spec W08 as Lewis…
Nick (@theawesomefish)
18th February 2017, 13:43
Okay, the “size zero” aerodynamic philosophy in F1 is just getting ridiculous.
CarWars (@maxv)
18th February 2017, 13:44
Bottas testing the competitor simulator
Little_M_Lo (@pezlo2013)
18th February 2017, 13:56
“I wonder if Williams want a good machine for their new kid.”
Mashiat (@mashiat)
18th February 2017, 14:05
“‘I thought that the tyre widths were supposed to increase…?”
Mashiat (@mashiat)
18th February 2017, 14:07
Valtterri Bottas decides to have a go at the iconic HRT car.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
18th February 2017, 14:07
*in
Racingman3000 (@racingman3000)
18th February 2017, 14:14
I can beat Lewis with this easy, I played Gran Turismo 4.
Yoseph
18th February 2017, 14:22
Totto to Bottas, ” all you gotta do is beat Lewis in this and you’re confirmed beyond 2017. Enough with the questions now.”
Saumya Agarwal (@asaumya)
18th February 2017, 14:26
To ensure smooth transition to Mercedes, Bottas started with current Williams configuration
Clivedymond
18th February 2017, 14:27
Thought new models would have a halo system on it. Or is VB to use older model
Ganesh
18th February 2017, 14:40
Prepared for my next role. Thank you 2017..
Andy K
18th February 2017, 14:41
Sob… “I was expecting something a bit sportier”
Thedonz
18th February 2017, 14:46
Bottas: cool check out this old car.
Security guard: I’m sorry sir, you can’t sit on the exhibits
Bottas: Lol, mate I’m the Mercedes F1 driver, I can do what I want.
Security guard: nice try son, you look nothing like Rosberg or Hamilton.
Bottas: Rosberg retired, Mercedes hired me.
Security guard: a likely story. C’mon, you are leaving.
Bottas: back off man. Don’t touch me
Security guard reacts badly to situation and Uses his tazer.
Wherline: great job man, here’s the cash….
Jeff Powell
18th February 2017, 14:50
You know I’m a fair racer I said I would give Lewis a chance.
Jon
18th February 2017, 15:10
Faster than a McLaren -Honda
Kelvyn Sheppard (@jenkinhill)
18th February 2017, 15:15
I was sure the blueprints I bought with me were for the FW40
CryptidBadger (@ninjabadger)
18th February 2017, 15:16
When Mercedes told Bottas they’ve designed a classic; this wasn’t quite what Valtteri had envisaged.
Dom (@3dom)
18th February 2017, 18:07
Lmao @ninjabadger :-D
Djangles LeVaughn (@royal-spark)
18th February 2017, 15:18
Mercedes are first to reveal their concept car for 2020 and beyond.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
18th February 2017, 15:26
Mercedes assign another Mercedes driver into three wheeler races and disregard Wehrlein concern about unfamiliarity on Race of Champions. Another injured driver before Melbourne?
Ian Murtagh
18th February 2017, 15:35
I think this the DRS lever….
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
18th February 2017, 15:36
Bottas: Hmm, I’m not going to be able to get very far quickly with a top speed of 9mph and a range of 5 miles…….
James k
18th February 2017, 15:42
Bottas: Nico can’t be serious when he says this is the only way to beat Lewis???
StephenH
18th February 2017, 15:44
It took a whole for Bottas to realise that he was still holding onto an imaginary steering wheel …
StephenH
18th February 2017, 15:44
*while*
Bart
18th February 2017, 15:57
Cannot W08 any longer…
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
18th February 2017, 15:57
After Daniel Ricciardo’s devastating defeat to 7 year old Felipinho Massa last year, Valterri Bottas is keen to avoid a similar fate.
Retired (@jeff1s)
18th February 2017, 16:06
“Thanks for the tips, Rosberg.”
Off Track
18th February 2017, 16:22
Hey! You were hired to drive the race car, not Sir Frank’s wheel chair
(says the figure on the left)
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
18th February 2017, 16:22
Mercedes were keen to stress that both drivers would definitely be treated equally.
mantresx (@mantresx)
18th February 2017, 16:24
It turns out that starting procedures in F1 remain as complicated as one hundred years ago.
Stephen Tomlinson
18th February 2017, 16:39
Isn’t that last season s McClaren?
Ronanskie (@ronanskie)
18th February 2017, 16:52
VB:”I’ll become world champion for sure if I tell Lewis that this is the 2017 car.”
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
18th February 2017, 16:57
Bottas keeps a brave face but thinks he should have looked closer at the fineprinted terms.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
18th February 2017, 17:04
“And this here is the pit lane speed limiter, which limits the speed to below 8 km/h”.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
18th February 2017, 17:11
It was only when Toto saw the W08 finally assembled did he realise there was a serious drawback to the cheap CAD software he’d bought off the internet.
hzh (@hzh00)
18th February 2017, 17:20
Codemasters went too far with their classic version of their 2017 F1 game.
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:32
Nice one
bul_ion (@bulion)
18th February 2017, 17:40
In response to the critisism that ‘racing in the past has been better’, Mercedes presented their prototype for the upcoming 2020 rule changes.
Anatoli68 (@anatoli68)
19th February 2017, 9:06
Good one!
Random Dave
18th February 2017, 17:50
Mercedes emphasise their commitment to keep F1 open cockpits
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
18th February 2017, 18:05
Toto, on looking at some of Paddy Lowe’s concept work for the W08, begins to suspect maybe it wasn’t necessary for him to go on Gardening Leave after all.
Dave Sontag
18th February 2017, 18:10
Nico said this was his best secret on how to beat Lewis
Friederike (@rike)
18th February 2017, 18:11
That’s not what I signed for…
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
18th February 2017, 18:19
Valtteri Bottas, on examining the reconstruction of a supposedly long lost da Vinci drawing found on the back of a Monet painting in the Louvre, declares the drawing is a fake.
Kringle
18th February 2017, 18:20
Bottas provides feedback on stage two of the FIAs backwards looking regulations.
Dom (@3dom)
18th February 2017, 18:32
:-D
Kringle
18th February 2017, 18:25
“Heh, so this was Bernies first car?”
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
19th February 2017, 12:34
Lol!
Dom (@3dom)
18th February 2017, 18:31
After the positive response to implementing wider tyres, Bottas was keen to support Liberty Media’s proposal for larger rims
James Brickles (@brickles)
18th February 2017, 18:37
Pirelli didn’t seem to understand the FIA’s instructions about widening the tyres for next season
Billys (@bilarxos)
18th February 2017, 18:41
“With this car, i will have very good exuse”
ColinChapman (@colinchapman)
18th February 2017, 18:51
Ok Valtteri, we’ll start from the beginning.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
18th February 2017, 18:55
“Don’t pull that one! That’s the trapdoor!”
Jack (@jackisthestig)
18th February 2017, 18:58
“No Valtteri, you walk in front holding a lamp while Lewis drives it”
D Winn
18th February 2017, 19:06
Wow, I could do some great handbrake turns with this.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
18th February 2017, 19:13
Thomas Edison, while visiting an “in the future” display at the Smithsonian Institution, declares their construction of a futuristic method of transportation as ludicrous and “so impractical that you couldn’t even race in it”.
Apexor
18th February 2017, 19:24
V: How many horses does this thing have again?
Apexor
18th February 2017, 19:25
V: Looks like aerodynamics kit is still missing in my car.
Jamie (@jdpkart18)
18th February 2017, 19:53
Upon firing up his W08 for the first time, Valterri noticed that the engine was a lot quieter than last year.
grat
18th February 2017, 19:57
“Guys, I think I see your problem with your practice starts last season….”
Aapje (@aapje)
18th February 2017, 20:02
The 2017 car has more changes than I expected…
Stan (@blakk76)
18th February 2017, 20:10
Open wheels -checked
Rear engine -checked
Open cockpit -checked
Still Bottas is not quite impressed…
Seri (@seri)
18th February 2017, 20:11
Liberty Media have exaggerated with their back to basics philosophy.
Thedonz
18th February 2017, 20:12
Bottas: So this is the lever that makes Hamiltons engine blow? Funny I’d have put it in the F1 car….
ivz (@ivz)
18th February 2017, 20:19
Gee, this is a really interesting interpretation of the 2017 rules…
Kevin Amery (@k-l-waster)
18th February 2017, 20:45
Hmm, this must be that “magic paddle” they kept talking about on the radio….
Neiana (@neiana)
18th February 2017, 20:57
Mercedes clearly doesn’t want the same garage drama as the last few years.
Michael (@cavman99)
18th February 2017, 21:00
Lewis tries to convince Bottas that everyone has to start at the bottom.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
18th February 2017, 21:11
Valtteri arrives at Mercedes for his bench fitting.
n0b0dy100
18th February 2017, 21:29
It dawned on Bottas that he might not be getting the same updates on his car as Lewis’.
Lasse
18th February 2017, 21:33
“So this is Launch Control? Maybe we should keep Lauda out of the technical proces for future designs…. Bwoah…”
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
18th February 2017, 22:02
Parking the bus, that’s my job for 2017
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
18th February 2017, 22:24
“Is this meant to park or drive the car”
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
18th February 2017, 22:25
When you say you signed for the history of an f1 team.
@HoHum (@hohum)
18th February 2017, 22:58
VB; “I thought it was too easy getting that clause in the contract that I would drive the number 1 car”.
Christophe Ghanime (@bensonjutton81)
18th February 2017, 23:00
“I thought I would get a better company car than this thing!”
Newfangled (@newfangled)
18th February 2017, 23:57
“…and this is the contract extension lever, yes?”
CateredHam
19th February 2017, 0:06
Keeping this year’s drive options open, Bottas also tested the 2017 CAN-AMish car.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
19th February 2017, 2:32
“Now I see why Nico retired”
WimB
19th February 2017, 7:30
I get the feeling Paddy Lowe already knew he was leaving when he pushed through this design…
LizardKirk (@lizardkirk)
19th February 2017, 10:23
Mercedes are working on a car especially for Lewis: it doesn’t look like a boat, has a nice big gearstick, and is impossible for his teammate to read his telemetry.
alexf1man (@alexf1man)
19th February 2017, 10:47
When Lewis said I could drive for Mercedes, this wasn’t the car I had in mind
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
19th February 2017, 11:22
Rival teams are suspicious Mercedes will be sand bagging in Barcelona and the car that arrives at Melbourne will look subtly different.
smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
19th February 2017, 11:27
And now lewis wont even share his data…this is tough !
hzh (@hzh00)
19th February 2017, 11:52
“I can’t believe this is what they meant when they said to lose some weight!”
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:41
Bottas experiences Hamilton’s vision for considerably simpler Formula One Cars
Dickie (@aitudrahcir)
21st February 2017, 9:40
Like it!
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:44
Bottas gave his first impression of the Mercedes W08 which is due to be launched on Thursday. “I mean it looks like a bench,” he said. “It’s so big, so much bigger than before. It’s wider, longer, higher.”
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:45
It’ll certainly be flat out through Copse
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:48
Bottas thinks that his engineers may have gone in the wrong direction on setup and would like to see Hamilton’s data
Dom (@3dom)
19th February 2017, 17:49
Bottas: Here’s my setup Lewis
JulianSark
19th February 2017, 19:54
Wondering how Bottas would call for a pit stop in the 2017 car, the helpful mechanics informed him about the signaling pistol strapped underneath the seat bench.
– or –
“Much improved visibility, light-weight chassis, great mileage, much more simple to operate (not a single button needed on the steering), – gents, this concept for 2017 is a WINNER!”
JulianSark
19th February 2017, 19:57
One more:
Mercedes new main sponsor, a maker of fine rubber bicycle tubes, necessitated a few modifications to the car …
Bart
19th February 2017, 22:03
Hmmm. I’ll use Nico’s settings for this one.
Bart
19th February 2017, 22:08
… cuz Lewis won’t share!
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
19th February 2017, 22:29
Bottas gets his first look at the rolling chassis for the new Mercedes.
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
19th February 2017, 22:35
“More of a bicycle than a boat to be honest.”
Dickie (@aitudrahcir)
21st February 2017, 9:38
So according to team stratagests I just pull this lever and a box of bananas are unloaded onto the track?
Dwight_js
21st February 2017, 23:25
Bottas: “I’m really excited about the opportunity to race for Mercedes… but the company car they gave me is not quite what I expected.”
Dwight_js
21st February 2017, 23:27
“Woah! These Mercedes clutches are tricky!”