Late contract talks could ‘disturb’ Bottas

London : Valtteri Bottas believes he and Mercedes must avoid dragging out contact renewal talks to prevent the process becoming “a bit disturbing” during the 2018 Formula 1 season.

Bottas is preparing for his second year with Mercedes since replacing 2016 champion Nico Rosberg alongside Lewis Hamilton.

He won three grands prix in 2017 to earn a single-year contract extension by mid-September, and hopes he will not have to wait too long before getting an answer about his longer-term future this season.

“For sure there will be a deadline to get to know what the future is going to hold,” Bottas said at an event for Mercedes team partner Petronas.

“There’s no point to drag things too late because as a driver you have a lot of things to think about and to focus on, so contract talks can be a bit disturbing.

“The team knows [that] as well, so when the time is right we’ll try to make the decision.”

Bottas added that he did not see the “first three or four races as anything more special than the first half of the season” but acknowledged that performing better early on improved the chance of a quick contract decision.