Why Bottas needs to eat more porridge
When Valtteri Bottas made a flying start to last season, he put it down to having porridge on race morning. As other drivers now circle for his coveted seat at Mercedes he'd better start ordering oats in bulk, argues STUART CODLING
"There comes a time," argued Richard Nixon in a famous phone call to then-US Presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower, "when you've either got to s*** or get off the pot." Differing circumstances aside, for Valtteri Bottas that time is swiftly approaching.
Long contract extensions for Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc at Red Bull and Ferrari respectively have inked in the identities of those teams' lead drivers for the foreseeable future. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, having "left each other in peace" over the winter according to team boss Toto Wolff, are about to begin their protracted dance towards agreeing a new contract for 2021 and beyond. They are, as Wolff also said, "the obvious pairing going forward".
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