Valtteri Bottas is making the switch from Mercedes to Cadillac, where he will be the first driver of the new American team. Mercedes will likely regret seeing the Finn leave, as he is a more than cherished member at the German team.
After several seasons at Sauber - where his contract was not extended - Bottas returned to Mercedes last winter, the team with which he celebrated his greatest successes in the sport.
Not only for the followers of Mercedes on social media was Bottas a hit, he did a lot of important work in the background as the third driver, says Bradley Lord, the team representative at Mercedes.
Bottas's added value at Mercedes
"Bringing him back he's been able to bring his experience, his insight, his expert eye on the race weekend, not just for Kimi (Antonelli, ed.), and around that but also for the engineers," Lord explains in a conversation with a select group of media, including GPblog.
"Offering perspective, [a] drivers’ perspective and things like that on a number of different things, we've had that.
"We've had work in the simulator as well, so some of the work he's done there has been very valuable.
"And TPC testing and keeping him fresh and sharp driving an F1 car but also performing that role too."
Bottas helped Antonelli
Moreover, Mercedes enjoys the way Bottas moves through the team with his humor. "Although it's not the performance priority, he's brought his lightness and sense of humour into the team how we can communicate but also working with our partners and sponsors."
According to Mercedes, it should not be forgotten how Bottas assists the inexperienced Antonelli. "Having Valtteri there has been an important part of helping Kimi integrate into the world of F1 and adjust to it and cope with its demands too," says Lord.
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