Valtteri Bottas has spoken of "mixed feelings" as he leaves Mercedes for Alfa Romeo, having failed to achieve his main target with the team. Bottas stepped up to Mercedes from Williams for the 2017 campaign after Nico Rosberg's shock F1 retirement and has contributed to five successive Constructors' titles alongside Lewis Hamilton. However, he was never able to put together a sustained challenge for the Drivers' title, with Hamilton storming to four in a row, before Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took overall honours in 2021. Bottas, whose best championship classification was second in 2019 and 2020, still managed to rack up 10 wins and 20 pole positions during his time at the Silver Arrows.
Bottas' mixed feelings
Asked to reflect on his five years with Mercedes, Bottas told accredited media, including RacingNews365.com : "Mixed feelings! Obviously, when I joined the team in 2017, the only thing in my mind was to win the Driver's championship, and that didn't happen. "But I need to look at the positives and I've grown so much as a driver and as a human being. I've learned so much with the team and we've actually achieved pretty cool things together. "There's many, many, many positives that I will definitely take onboard." Pushed if he walks away feeling content, Bottas said: "I think in this sport you're never fully satisfied, you know. But in five years, like I said, I've definitely achieved something - I'm sure that will help me in the future." Bottas will partner Formula 2 race winner Guanyu Zhou at Alfa Romeo in 2022, with team boss Frederic Vasseur counting on the Finn to spearhead the squad's charge .
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