According to reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, the Williasm F1 team should have more points and is faster than their points haul to date shows. AUTOSPORT carried the story today where Bottas said:
“I think the results we’ve got in the last few weekends, we’ve been really unlucky,” he said. “I think we should’ve had more points, there’s been a lot of bad luck. The car has more pace than it’s been showing.”
Let’s be honest, it’s not a great thing when the reserve driver says the team really should have more points if it weren’t for the spate of unlucky weekends. The hint, allegation or suggestion is that current driver Pastor Maldonado threw away critical points when he had the chance to finish strong by colliding with other drivers or binning it himself. While Bottas did not say as much, the implication is quite clear.
No secret that many fans would like to see Bottas in a Formula One car as a lead driver and some of those fans think Williams F1 is a perfect place for the Finn to cut his teeth or get his sea legs as it were. The team currently employ bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado but both bring sponsor dollars with them and should they be equally buttressed for 2013, it will be hard to turn down that cash infusion. If Williams F1’s succes in 2012 has relieved any financial pressure allowing the team to retain a pay driver, one wonders what could have been had they kept Nico Hulkenberg or Rubens Barrichello. Better yet, what might be with Bottas in 2013?
What do you think? Is Bottas the man for the ride in 2013 at Williams? Rubens Barrichello said recently that he is an asset and would have done much better for the team this year had they kept him. No doubt he would jump at the chance to return to Formula One as well.
