Valtteri Bottas believes his former team Williams will be crowned champions again at some point in the near future.
Bottas left Williams for Mercedes at the start of this year after Nico Rosberg's retirement opened up a seat at the reigning world champions. Although Williams has not won a race since 2012, it has secured nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships in its 40 year history and Bottas believes it is on the right path to challenge for F1's top prize again.
"I was with Williams for a total of seven years, four years as a race driver and everything has gone really quickly," he said. "I think I am one of [the drivers with] the most races done at Williams and it's been an amazing learning curve for me and also for the team.
"Every year you can feel it that the team has grown more and more professional and things are developing even though sometimes the results don't show it. I would always say that Williams has won so many championships that there is no reason why they won't win again. I think it is only a matter of time for this team and it's a shame that we couldn't get together our first win or the title."
.@ValtteriBottas: "I wish all the best to everyone at Williams." #Williams40 #WeAreRacing pic.twitter.com/04WIjWxVjS
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) January 25, 2017
Bottas' F1 career started at Williams when he became a test driver in 2010. Over the next three years he became more integrated with the team before making the step up to race driver in 2013. He scored nine of the Williams' 14 podiums in the last three years and hopes he has left the team in a stronger position than when he joined.
"I wish all the best to everyone at Williams and wish them a lot of success and hope that they will get the championship sooner rather than later. I feel and I hope I have given a lot to Williams, at least I always tried everything I could. I always wanted to be a team player and my goal was always to bring the maximum points for the team, work a lot with all the engineers and race team and spend a lot of time in the factory.
"I always wanted to do everything I could to improve the team and give all the feedback I could to make us better and make us quicker. I hope I've given something and now I just wish for everything to go well in the future."