In Valtteri Bottas' first year with Mercedes F1, he has far exceeded the expectations of everyone—hell, maybe even his own. He made it clear earlier in the year that he was aiming for a contract extension with the team, no matter what, and that was received with some mixed reactions from team boss Toto Wolff. He claimed that the team wouldn't be promising Bottas anything past 2017, but after a slew of excellent qualifying rounds and podium finishes, Wolff's mind seems to have changed.
Wolff has been extremely impressed with Bottas' performance, especially against teammate and three-time F1 champ Lewis Hamilton, according to Motorsport. After his first career win at the Russian Grand Prix, Bottas put Mercedes as well as other teams on notice. He continued on by winning multiple poles and even notching another victory in Austria earlier this month, and according to Wolff, retaining him is "almost a no-brainer."
"I would just like to get the puzzle together, and it's not only about 2018, but there is logic," Wolff said. "I think it's about looking forward and what happens in '19 and '20, the risk and opportunities, and that's why after Budapest, and hopefully a good race again, I'm going to contemplate on a beach about what's right and wrong for the team."
The silver-arrow boss obviously isn't in any hurry, but after seeing his two drivers stand in second and third place for the driver's championship, he should certainly be feeling good about the team's future.
"First we need to really speak about it before doing any announcement or making contracts," said Bottas. "We're not going to hear anything for the next few weeks for sure. Like I said before, for me the main target is to have a long relationship with the team, that is what I want.