Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams says she knew immediately after Nico Rosberg's retirement announcement, that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff would come knocking on her door with an interest in poaching Valtteri Bottas.
Although Mercedes have to officially confirm anything, it's widely believed that Bottas will replace Rosberg at Mercedes in 2017, partnering three-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking at the Autosport International Show, Williams admits she knew Mercedes would be interested in the Finnish driver and says neither she nor the team want to stand in his way.
"I suppose as soon as Nico made his announcement, I knew the call was going to come from Toto," she said. "I know that he’s admired Valtteri – many people do admire Valtteri’s talent.
"For us, you don’t want to stand in the way of a driver who has the opportunity to go and race finally in a car that’s winning races, it’s winning world championships."
Williams denied they've been forced in to the move because they rely on Mercedes for engines.
"Just because we’re a customer of Mercedes, Toto picks up the phone to me and I go ‘alright then’. Anyone that knows me knows that I don’t just go, ‘alright then’.
"We pay for our engines, we pay on time for our engines and therefore they don’t have any right to come to us and say, ‘you need to release this driver for us now’."
