Bottas did not immediately expect Binotto's arrival: 'Went pretty fast'

Indeed, Bottas speaks to GPblog and others of "sudden" news coverage. "Quite sudden news. I believe everything happened pretty quickly, but obviously those high-level decisions, we as drivers and many of the team members don't know really what's going on behind the scenes. But yeah, quite unexpected, but obviously welcoming Mattia to the team. And at the same time, I want to thank Mr Seidl and Mr Hoffman for their contribution to the team.."

Now that Binotto has taken the helm, operational matters are undoubtedly going to change. "It's a bit of a reset again," Bottas acknowledges. " It's not a secret that when there's a new leadership, it will always take a bit of time, first of all. Mattia needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths, what are the priorities for short- and long-term improvements, and that's going to take a bit of time."

It is the third time in three years that there will be a new leader at Bottas' team. "The team shouldn't be too affected at this point. I think it's more the stuff for the future, and obviously time will show what will happen."

The Finnish driver's contract expires after this season and he is all but certain of a new contract. With Nico Hulkenberg, the team already has one driver under contract, but who will be allocated the second seat is still uncertain.

This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi