07 February 2023 , 20:47
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Valtteri Bottas wants to sit down for new contract talks with Alfa Romeo "quite early" this year to make sure his long-term place in Formula 1 is secure.
Bottas was famously only ever offered one-year deals throughout his time as a Mercedes driver. The lack of race seat security, and struggles competing alongside Lewis Hamilton, led to the Finn experiencing "a bit of a dip" in terms of his love for the sport.
The multi-year contract he signed when moving to Alfa Romeo was the first such deal he had ever received in F1. It led to Bottas feeling much more relaxed last year, knowing his place was safe and focussing entirely on his performances.
Heading into his second year with the team, the 33-year-old hopes a repeat will occur. He told Autosport : "I've been in that situation so many times where it’s become a distraction.
"So yeah, for sure, it's going to be a talking point hopefully quite early [in the year] on what's going to happen. It is important to me to have that stability after 10 years of not so much stability."
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While in many elite sports 33 is the sort of age where peak performance will be on the decline, the trend in F1 right now appears to be different. Hamilton turned 38 last month and is still going strong, while Fernando Alonso turns 42 later this year and has just begun a multi-year project with Aston Martin.
Bottas only ever got one-year extensions when partnered with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes (AFP/Getty Images)Nico Hulkenberg, returning to the F1 grid this year with Haas, is 35, while Red Bull star Sergio Perez is the same age as Bottas. Those examples, plus the impression he gets from his own body, mean that the Finn plans to stick around in F1 for a while yet.
Speaking at the team's 2023 livery reveal event on Tuesday, he told Reuters : "I feel good. Physically I feel fit. I feel good in the car. I haven't had a single sign of decreased performance since the start of my career.
"Actually, I always feel like from every season I learn something new and that way you become more experienced and better. I still have many years in me, no doubt. I'm enjoying the racing, enjoying everything involved in F1 so I have many, many years ahead of me – let's see what happens."