Valtteri Bottas drops Mercedes contract hint? Finn says he's 'open-minded' about future

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas admits contract talks for the 2022 Formula 1 season are yet to begin. Bottas, whose current deal expires at the end of this year, also said he’s ‘open minded’ on what the future holds. Whether this means he is okay walking away from the championship-winning team remains to be seen. However, there is no denying that the debate over his seat has been intense this year.

“We haven’t yet talked about anything, because this is being a pretty demanding championship and we know how much it matters to be able to work in peace,” he told reporters ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Then you can focus on the main thing, that is performance, but that time will come, for sure. It hasn’t been yet, but for sure time flies, especially as we’re soon going to go to triple headers.

“So I would imagine that, naturally, over the next month or so you need to start to speak and I know from previous experiences that the sooner you can sort things out, the better for everyone. It will come soon, but not yet.

“About my future, what are my thoughts? I’m quite open minded.

“Like in life in general, you need to always take opportunities and you just never know what is around the corner. And that’s also having clear goals, what you’re pushing for and that has taken me this far.”

Still feel I can improve: Valtteri Bottas

Bottas has found himself in the hunt for the championship ever since he joined the side in 2017. That being said, he hasn’t come remotely close to winning the title.

This failure was especially tough in 2019 and 2020. This is because the title race appeared to be a straight shoot-out between him and teammate Lewis Hamilton.

However, he started both seasons well but couldn’t sustain that momentum into the rest of the season. But his ambitions and drive to improve remain the same.

“I always want to kind of follow my heart and follow my passion and I am still enjoying Formula 1 very much. I really, really love it and I still enjoy it as much as I did in for example my first year with Mercedes, no doubt.

“But if I look at the big picture, for sure I still have a good few years in me. I feel like, year-by-year, I keep improving in certain areas and keep getting better.

“And you know, I’m quite far from the oldest drivers on the grid, so in theory, I still have time. I don’t know what the future holds and I already try to take a weekend-by-weekend, and see what comes.”