Bottas closing in on new Mercedes deal

Valtteri Bottas appears set to sign a new contract extension with Mercedes as the Finn has confirmed talks have now started between himself and the team.

Mercedes junior driver George Russell has now confirmed he will be remaining at Williams for 2021 , leaving Bottas seemingly without competition for his Mercedes seat.

The Finn, who has raced on a one-year rolling contract since joining Mercedes in 2017, was coy on the topic of his future during the fortnight in Austria.

But ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, Bottas said: "I can say that we have started talking about it, because yeah, I think we have all realised that time actually goes quick with these triple-headers.

"Obviously, nothing is signed yet, but I think things are moving in the right direction."

Bottas goes into the race at the Hungaroring with a six-point lead over team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who has also yet to put pen to paper on a new contract.

With his goal of finally becoming champion, Bottas added: "The main thing, as I said last weekend, is to keep focusing on the championship.

"There are big things to be achieved this year, so keep the focus on that, and I'm sure things will move on eventually.

"But of course, from a driver's side, if things drag on, it's not nice, but we've only had two races, so it's okay. There's no big panic or big rush."

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