F1: Bottas Joins Maldonado At Williams In 2013

Formula 1

F1: Bottas Joins Maldonado At Williams In 2013

Valtteri Bottas will replace Bruno Senna and compete as a teammate to Pastor Maldonado at Williams in 2013...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 28, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Valtteri Bottas spent 2012 as a reserve driver at Williams. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado will drive for Williams in 2013, the team confirmed Wednesday.

Maldonado’s involvement has never been in doubt, while Bottas has looked like a dead cert for the second seat for some months after the Finn impressed in FP1 sessions this year.

Sir Frank Williams said: ‘’In Pastor and Valtteri we have two of the most exciting talents in motor racing, and I am especially excited about what 2013 can bring for Williams. Pastor has always demonstrated remarkable pace and this year has seen him mature as a racing driver.

“Valtteri is quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across and we expect great things from him in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our departing driver Bruno Senna for his hard work over the past year, and wish him the best of luck going forward.’’

“I’ve really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here, so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat,” said Bottas. “I’m looking forward to getting my Formula One career started and enjoying a lot of success with Williams.’’

“I’m really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013,” said Maldonado. “2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona, and we made a big step forward in terms of performance. I have a lot of confidence in the team, and hopefully next year will see us move even further up the grid and taste more success.’’

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.

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