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Toto Wolff has defended the signing of Finn Valtteri Bottas who steps up from Williams to take a top team drive on the Formula 1 grid.
Bottas joins Mercedes for the 2017 season, replacing the retired Nico Rosberg who quit the sport days after claiming the world championship at Abu Dhabi last year.
Wolff was asked by the official Formula 1 website if he is worried about signing a driver who has not yet won a Grand Prix.
"Not at all. We trust in Valtteri. He has done 77 races with nine podiums for Williams and has excellent records in junior categories. I think he is grown up enough to step into Nico’s (Rosberg) shoes."
Wolff was then asked if Bottas is 'Rosberg 2.0' as Nico Rosberg also spent four years racing at Williams before joining the Silver Arrows.
"Valtteri is a Valtteri 1.0! But yes, the record looks similar. Both are winners in junior series - and both of them went through a solid education at Williams with some highlights, but weren’t in a position of winning races because of their cars."
Mercedes have also acquired the services of highly respected engineer James Allison, who joins the team after leaving Ferrari midway through 2016 due to personal complications.
"James is a very respected engineer who was part of very successful structures at Ferrari and Renault. I like his personality and his management approach. But he was not available for a long time. When he became available - because he wasn’t able to meet his management’s expectations and had to cope with a dramatic personal situation - it was a must for me to get him on board."
Fergal Walsh
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