Valtteri Bottas of Williams Martini Racing gets ready to drive in the third practice session at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday October 24, 2015. JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Valtteri Bottas was tapped as the new driver at Mercedes for the 2017 Formula One season, replacing series champion Nico Rosberg and teaming with Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg shocked the F1 world by announcing his retirement last month.
The 27-year-old from Finland hasn’t had the best results in the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. He finished 16th here last year driving for Williams Mercedes and had a DNF in 2015. His finest moment in Austin was the 2014 race, where he qualified third and finished fifth.
Bottas does, however, enjoy coming to Austin and has an especially fond memory of a side trip he took to Georgetown.
I asked him in October how he likes the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin and what his favorite moment here off-the-track was. This was his answer:
“Yeah, for me, overall this Grand Prix is a lot of fun. It’s a great track to drive. I think all the drivers really like the circuit and obviously a lot of support from the fans as well in here and just next door there is a great city like Austin with plenty of things to do and such a nice feeling in the city, so overall it is one of the best Grand Prix weekends in the calendar in my opinion.
“And the coolest thing I’ve done here? I think it was last year, it was not in Austin but it was in Georgetown, just next door. I had an opportunity to visit the police department in there so I spent the day with the local police and they showed me their work. I got to drive a police car around the track and everything. I beat their best lap time, by the way in their training circuit. That was a lot of fun.”
Bottas, in a Georgetown police cruiser, took a test run with Officer Casey Horsley. Then he got in the patrol car by himself and drove the daylights out of the course, which has sharp turns and obstacles. His course record time was 1 minute and 36 seconds.
Mercedes will be counting on Bottas putting up some eye-catching numbers in one of the premier seats in the sport.
“It’s mega to be driving a Silver Arrow this year,” said Bottas in an address to the workforce at Mercedes’ UK factory in Brackley. “I can’t wait to get working properly.
“This is my fifth season in F1. I got nine podiums with Williams, but I’m still missing my first win, so that’s my first mission.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief, said Bottas was the right man at the right time.
“I think Valtteri fits very well in our team, as a driver he’s very fast, and he has also the heart in the right place. He shares our values and passion. He’s modest and humble and he’s hard working.”
Massa returns: Felipe Massa’s retirement didn’t last long. The 35-year-old Brazilian announced last fall he was stepping away. On Monday he decided to come back, filling Bottas’ seat. That keeps Massa with Williams-Mercedes for a fourth consecutive year.
“Williams is a team close to my heart,” said Massa, who will team with teenage rookie Lance Stroll this season.
In one more piece of F1 driving news, Pascal Wehrlein, a 22-year-old German, was confirmed at Sauber.
