Toto Wolff says the decision to retain Valtteri Bottas alongside Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team in 2018 should be an obvious one to make, but the team need to look at the bigger picture and the long-term options.
Bottas has twice taken race victories in 2017, in Russia and Austria, whilst he has also shown he can be good coming through the field, coming from a lap down to finish second in Azerbaijan and from ninth on the grid to second in the recent British Grand Prix.
Wolff, the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, knows the importance of such a decision, and he will think deeply about whether to retain Bottas for next year and beyond during the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“It is almost a no-brainer,” said Wolff at Silverstone. “I would just like to set the puzzle together and it’s not only about 2018. I think that is logical.
“I think it’s about looking forward and what happens in 2019 and 2020, the risk and opportunities. That’s why after Budapest, hopefully a good race again, I’m going to contemplate on a beach about what’s right and wrong for the team.”
