Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsWilliams

Mercedes and Ferrari only attractive alternatives - Bottas

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Valtteri Bottas says Mercedes and Ferrari are the only other attractive options to him if he leaves Williams at the end of this season.

The Finn's contract at Williams expires at the end of 2015, with Bottas linked with a move to Ferrari to replace Kimi Raikkonen next year. Speaking to F1i during an exclusive interview regarding his future, Bottas says there are only two teams other than Williams which could offer him the chance of success he craves.

“As a driver you want the success as quickly as possible, that’s how it goes," Bottas said. "But then if you need to wait, if there’s no other way to be able to reach your goals then that’s what you need to do. But if there’s another way, I think every driver would go for it.

“I would think in the next few years if you want to win the title you have to be in one of those three teams. For sure it was quite impressive the step Ferrari made from last year to this year and at the moment so far this season they have been in a stronger position than us. We’ve been getting closer but I think the rest of the season will show how it’s going to end up between us and them. But it’s clear Mercedes is dominating at the moment…”

And Bottas insists Williams remains an attractive option for next season because he does not believe the team has reached its full potential yet.

“For sure the step we made from our first year to last year was massive. Also the way we’ve been able to improve how the team operates, we’re a lot more professional now than for example at the beginning of last year. It’s still the case that every single update works, which is really positive, so it does give me confidence that there is still a bit more potential than we are showing now."

Both Mercedes drivers are under contract for 2016, while Sebastian Vettel is also tied in at Ferrari, with the team holding an option on Kimi Raikkonen.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.