Mercedes not considering other drivers for 2019

Valtteri Bottas knows, his 2018 season will be closely scrutinized. For his first year within Mercedes, the Finn was unable to follow the pace set by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, crowned at the end of the championship.

Extended in September for 2018, Bottas openly acknowledged his difficulties, before regaining good momentum at the end of the year, with two second places and a final success on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. A victory which was added to his first places in Russia and Austria.

2018 must mark progress for the former driver Williams. The latter knows that Mercedes has several young talents in its fold, starting with the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, current starter at Force India. But the German team wants the Finn to succeed before thinking of other more or less short-term solutions.

« Esteban is one of our drivers and is therefore included in the overall picture, but our team is behind Valtteri, recently admitted Toto wolff, boss of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, interviewed by Tarun Sanomat on the possibility of seeing the Frenchman join Mercedes in 2019.

If we were to start thinking about other drivers, it would mean that the emotional side wouldn't work 100% for Valtteri. I can assure you that everyone, from our Mercedes board to every member of the team, wants Valtteri to succeed. He is our pilot with Lewis and we are not thinking of other drivers for 2019 »

Toto Wolff further emphasizes that the off-season should allow Bottas to find solutions to certain weaknesses. " Those are several little things, Wolff comments. Perhaps the most important is understanding how Lewis made the tires work better on certain weekends. And it's not about a big difference, but about hundredths. »