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Throughout the course of this morning on social media sites such as Twitter, Williams driver Valtteri Bottas has been linked with a move to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team as it looks to fill the seat vacated by retiring world champion Nico Rosberg.
Rosberg’s shock decision to quit F1 left Mercedes nearly two weeks ago left the Mercedes team with a big void going into 2017 and has seen a host of drivers tipped as potential replacements. But regarding Bottas (whose management stable includes Mercedes boss Toto Wolff) has been one name put forward; though this year he signed a deal to remain at Williams for 2017.
With both the BBC and Sky Sports reporting that the Mercedes team have made an approach to have Bottas released from his contract which has been blocked by Williams. Bottas would be a logical replacement for Rosberg, as he is well regarded by Wolff and is more experienced than junior driver Pascal Wehrlein.
When contacted by BBC about the reports, a Williams spokesperson refused to comment, saying simply: “We have announced our 2017 driver line up”.
If a move for Bottas to Mercedes was successful it would leave Williams looking for a replacement to partner 2017 rookie Lance Stroll, though Mercedes could potentially sweeten any deal with their junior driver as he is yet to secure a seat for next season.
The news came just days after Motorsport.com reported Mercedes’ technical chief Paddy Lowe, whose contract expires at the end of December is rumoured to be making a switch to Williams ahead of the 2017 season.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
