Valtteri Bottas says there is “no rush” for him to settle his Formula 1 future as he strives to remain at Mercedes for a second season.
Bottas joined Mercedes from Williams in January as the replacement for Nico Rosberg, who stunned the sport by announcing his decision to retire mere days after claiming the world title.
Bottas occupies third in the standings, 48 points behind title leader Sebastian Vettel, having taken both his maiden pole and win (in Bahrain and Russia respectively) since switching to Mercedes.
On the uncertainty over his 2018 plans, Bottas commented: “I feel normal because every single year in Formula 1 for me I've always had the same situation," he said.
“I've had no idea at this point what's going to be [happening] next year, so for me it's normal.”
Bottas expects discussions over his 2018 contract to commence shortly, though stressed that there is no pressing need to resolve matters.
“I don't know when I will know [about 2018]," Bottas said. “The timeline is quite flexible, but there's no rush really.
“For sure discussions will be opened soon, because as a driver at some point it's always nice to know what you're going to do next year.
“But not more than that to say really, it's still a bit early days for that.
“I'm keen to have a long-term relationship with Mercedes, that's my target, that's why every day I work hard and try to make the most out of every single situation and race weekend.”
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