Valtteri Bottas says he’s not tied to his present team, Williams, and a change is possible if the right opportunity presents itself.
The Finnish driver struggled in his debut season, largely in part thanks to a slow car. Nonetheless he beat his more experienced team-mate by four points to one.
His second season saw many describing him as a revelation as he went against the much more experienced Felipe Massa, outscoring the Brazilian by 54 points, securing six podiums in the process.
Therefore it’s no surprise that he’s a wanted man. His current deal with Williams expires at the end of the year, and whilst he was coy on whether rivals have been in touch, particularly Ferrari, he says he’s open to a move.
“I don’t know if there is [interest]. Maybe this is a question for my management…” he told the official Formula 1 website.
“I don’t know anything about Kimi’s contract. All I know is that I want to be in the quickest car available. That’s all I can say.”
Looking ahead to 2015, Bottas is hopeful that he can continue from the same point last season after his Abu Dhabi podium and is confident Williams have a car to allow him to do just that.
“The car is pretty similar, but a bit improved,” he explained.
“It is hard to say where that puts us compared to the others – how much they have improved over the winter – so the first couple of races will show a clearer picture. My gut feeling is that it’s going to be a good year. I am pretty upbeat because I see that they are making the right calls in this team.
“If we could start the season at the level we finished last year that would be really good. I know that we are capable of still improving a lot, so if we could start at a good level I would be happy at the beginning of the season to fight for podiums – and then later on challenge for wins.”
