Bottas will be world champion- Symonds
Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds has said that driver Valtteri Bottas will become a Formula 1 world champion one day.
The Finnish driver was one of the stars of 2014 and led the team to third in the constructors championship, and scored six podiums in the process.
Symonds, who has worked with legends such as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, believes that the 25-year-old is a champion in the making.
“I’m really impressed with him, he’s very bright and he’s very quick. He doesn't make many mistakes and when he does he learns from them," Symonds told reporters.
“He’s got a great personality and he’s a real team player and I’m absolutely convinced that he’s got the potential to be a world champion.
“I’ve worked with a few champions in their early days and I’ve no doubt that Valtteri will be a world champion.”
Bottas joined Williams ahead of the 2013 season but failed to impress in a slow car, despite a lot of pundits expecting him to excel.
However, last year he outscored his new team-mate, multiple race winner Felipe Massa, by over 50 points and finished ahead of ex-champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
Symonds says that it isn't just his raw speed which will carry him to the very top of the sport.
“It’s not about being quick as that’s almost a given and there are plenty of people who are quick but are never going to win the world championship.
“It’s the intelligence, it’s the application, the thinking about things, the hard work that is put in, the attention to detail. Those sort of things will win him the championship .”
Bottas will lead the Williams charge in the 2015 season.
