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Raikkonen deal makes life easier for everyone - Bottas

Valtteri Bottas says it is easier for himself, Williams and Ferrari now Kimi Raikkonen's future has been resolved.

Raikkonen was confirmed as staying at Ferrari for 2016 on Wednesday, bringing an end to rumours linking Bottas with a move to Maranello. Following the announcement, Bottas says it will allow him to focus on his racing more easily.

"I think it is now easier for me, for Williams, for Kimi, for Ferrari," Bottas said. "Now there are no rumours, only facts and I think this proves a lot of the rumours were not true at all. But this is F1. Nothing has changed for me since the news yesterday."

Asked if the rumours had been distracting, Bottas replied: "Yes, definitely.

"It has been unnecessary because most of it has not been true. It doesn’t do any good, for example, mine and the team’s relationship, so it is not fair for us those kind of rumours, or Kimi or Ferrari. Now it is easier to know what is happening."

Having said he himself did not hold any talks with Ferrari, Bottas says discussions regarding his Williams future are ongoing.

"I have a contract for this year but for next year we are still discussing it. There is no confirmation of that."

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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.