In the round-up: Valtteri Bottas says he will be open-minded about his potential destination for the 2021 F1 season but remaining at Mercedes would obviously make sense.
What they say
Bottas joined Mercedes from Williams in 2017 and has won seven races in that time. He extended his contract by one year last season.
Like every single other driver, I will look at all the possible options at the moment would be now if I would decide about my future for ’21.
For me, it would be a no-brainer to continue with this team because I really enjoy it. We’re performing well all together and I’m learning a lot with them and becoming a better driver all the time. So that’s my thinking at the moment.
Obviously we’ll see as next season starts and what the team is thinking for the future and so on. So there’s many elements, obviously, that have to have to come together. But at the same time, I need to keep my eyes open and be open-minded about the future.
Quotes: Dieter Rencken
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
Leclerc: I won't crash with Vettel again (BBC)
"The most important thing is we work together well off track to develop the car in the best way possible and of course not exceed the limits when we are on track like we have seen in Brazil. But I think it was a good lesson for both of us and it won't happen again."
Red Bull expecting top four championship finish for Tsunoda in 2020 (GP Today)
"Tsunoda will drive in Formula 2 and we expect him to finish in the first four immediately in his first year."
Honda still needs to eliminate circuit dependency (Autosport)
"This year it was, we don't say 'unstable', but we had a preference in the circuit. We shouldn't have that kind of thing."
Stars and strife at Haas — why the team had such a miserable 2019 (Motorsport magazine)
"We may look upon the team as having achieved great things for its size, but Gene just sees less than he was expecting."
Bourdais Relishing Full-Season Chance with JDC-Miller (Sportscar365)
"Bourdais will share the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R on a full-time basis with two-time IMSA prototype champion Joao Barbosa, while the pair will be joined by Loic Duval for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds."
Hanley, Dragonspeed set for St. Pete race (IndyCar)
"DragonSpeed is a race-winning sports car team, and it made its IndyCar debut last year, competing in three races with Ben Hanley driving the number 81 Chevrolet-powered Dallara. Hanley, an Englishman, will again drive the car in St Petersburg."
'Women should be part of Ferrari Driver Academy' – Binotto (F1)
"Women should be part of the Ferrari Academy. That's something on which we are working right now to make sure that it may happen very soon."
F1 2019 Silverstone world record classic cars and set-up (Jarno Opmeer via YouTube)
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Comment of the day
This week’s debate question asks which team has the best driver line-up for the 2020 F1 season?
Who would I want in the cars?
If I had driver and constructors championship prospects, it would be Hamilton and Bottas by the slimmest of margins over Verstappen and Albon. Close enough I wouldn’t change anything if I was either team. Vettel and Leclerc are fast but were collectively a pain.
In the midfield McLaren or Renault. I think I’d rather have Sainz and Norris, because I have a hunch Ricciardo and Ocon will be a difficult pairing.
RP (@Slotopen)
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On this day in F1
- 15 years ago today Felipe Massa gave the new Sauber C24 its first run at the Valencia circuit in Spain. The car, powered by a Petronas-badged Ferrari engine, sported an unusual front wing design
Qeki (@qeki)
14th January 2020, 1:04
That ’05 Villeneuve picture is straight from horror movie.. if you get what I mean :)
Jere (@jerejj)
14th January 2020, 4:25
@qeki Indeed it is, LOL.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th January 2020, 7:17
Very safe stuff.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
14th January 2020, 2:20
Very interesting article by Mark Hughes about Haas – not just in what caused their troubles this year, but also their model, and the implications it could have on Gene’s stint in F1.
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th January 2020, 3:06
@phylyp, Indeed and further proof, if any was required, that the pirelli high-deg. tyres are a ball-and-chain around the ankles of the teams in the way they punish driving at the limit of adhesion. The sooner F1 wakes up and demands tyres as effective and reliable as they demand the PUs to be the better. Death to the gimmickmungers !
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
14th January 2020, 3:21
It was a great article. One hopes that Gene won’t decide to just walk away but its certainly not inconceivable.
I’m pretty sure they weren’t the only ones suffering tyre issues early but the fact that they simply didn’t have the resources to address it is concerning and does not bode well for 2020 or for that matter 2021 so I’m sure Gunther will have to do some very smooth talking to keep Gene interested.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
14th January 2020, 6:15
I too hope Gene doesn’t throw in the towel, but on the other hand I wouldn’t blame him if he did. On the one hand Haas don’t understand the 2019 spec tyres, and on the other hand they voted to keep them rather than opt for the improved 2020 spec tyres. Where is the evidence they now have a better understanding of how the tyres will behave at each GP this year?
We can also ask why they kept the same driver lineup as last year considering they collided with each other in a race?
Haas (the team) should be working hard to make sure Mr Haas (their boss) is happy, but it seems to me they’ve taken his investment lightly.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th January 2020, 4:26
The ‘What They Say’ and F1-articles are old news, though.
I share the same views as the COTD, although I wouldn’t jump to definite conclusions about the Renault line-up yet.
ColdFly (@)
14th January 2020, 10:05
Yeah the “What They Said Last Year” quote was from 30 December 2019, @jerejj.
At least that article was co-written by Dieter, but it remains disappointing to read old news in a daily round-up.
roberto giacometti
14th January 2020, 5:34
Let me guess _ we are gonna see Bottas 3.0 !!!!!! Snoooooozefest 3.0 coming up !!!
Stick a young gun in there – Mercedes should have put Ocon in the number 2 car – and yes – for all the words and mullarkeys and stories , and contradictions and denials , we all know that IT IS the number 2 car – who are they trying to kid ? Honestly?
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
14th January 2020, 6:34
No way is Ocon going to get the “Number Two” seat at either Mercedes or Ferrari. Josh Verstappen wasn’t going to allow that. Ocon was lucky to get his seat at Renault. Hopefully he now knows better than to crash into Max, especially when he’s leading a race, otherwise he might be sidelined for another year (or two). Sure, Mercedes could replace Valtteri with George Russell, but why would they? He’s second on the WDC points table (2019 season).
I think Mercedes wanted Daniel Ricciardo to replace Valtteri, so I don’t know why they didn’t replace him when the opportunity came along. Anyway, they didn’t, so Valtteri has another chance, at least in theory, of competing for the WDC. Unfortunately, I doubt that he’s got much chance when you consider he will have to fight Lewis, Max, and Charles for the title (unless he’s got big elbows).
Robbie (@robbie)
14th January 2020, 11:55
@drycrust Sorry, remind me, what has Jos (not Josh) Verstappen got to do with Ocon’s contracts?
ColdFly (@)
14th January 2020, 13:21
Of course Jos raced for Tyrrell, which became BAR, which became Honda, which became Brawn GP, which is now Mercedes, @robbie.
Jos might still know the man at the door.
I guess his old acquaintance at Renault (Benetton) was sick when Ocon called ;)
Robbie (@robbie)
15th January 2020, 3:01
@coldfly Lol.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
14th January 2020, 7:18
Bottas being a bit too finnish, you ought play better poker than that.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
14th January 2020, 12:48
Not sure if anyone has seen this, but there is an article quoting Pat Symonds on a new engine formula for 2025. He is quoted as saying “I’m very keen on it being a two-stroke [engine]”
Linked here
NOt sure how likely this is – but a good discussion topic?
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
14th January 2020, 12:50
wow – I formatted that badly. Anyway, just click on the blue text for the link – sorry :)
Kasim
15th January 2020, 0:10
Is it just me, or does watching that onboard video around Silverstone give a far greater sence of speed through the corners compared to the real onboards?
Imo the cameras used by FOM are too good and just dissolve the epic scale of the capabilities of these cars. Such a shame.
AlexS
17th January 2020, 0:46
F1 TV is one of mine perennial complains