Bottas relaxed over Mercedes future speculation

Valtteri Bottas says 'there's no rush' on securing a Mercedes Formula 1 contract for 2018 but is keen to remain at the Brackley squad.

The Finnish driver, who stepped in as Nico Rosberg's replacement after his shock retirement just days after clinching the 2016 F1 world title, is yet to confirm his future but is solely focused on remaining at the defending world champions.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff sparked speculation during the build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by accepting his driver is in a 'uncomfortable situation' currently but isn't prepared to be hasty with a new deal.

Bottas has repeated the no rush attitude like his team boss, and former manager, but says a flexible timeframe is in place to confirm his 2018 plans.

In recent seasons, Mercedes have confirmed he driver deals leading into the summer break - as was the case for Rosberg last year before his shock departure - and Bottas is remaining cool over his future at the team.

"I don't know when I will know. The time line is quite flexible, but, like I said, there's no rush," Bottas said. "The discussions will be open soon, because as a driver, at some point, it's always nice to know what you're going to do next year.

"But it's still early days and for sure I'm keen to have a long-term relationship with Mercedes. Every day I work hard to make the most out of every single situation I'm in.

"I feel normal, because every single year I've been in Formula One I was in the same situation at this time of the year, as I had no idea, at this point, what I was going to do the following year. So, for me, it's a normal situation."

Bottas currently sits third in the F1 world drivers' championship and claimed his maiden Grand Prix win with a dominant performance in Russia. The Finnish driver has also claimed one pole position (Bahrain) and three additional rostrums along with one DNF (Spain).