Amongst a slew of changes to the driver line up for the upcoming Formula One season starting 2013, the Williams F1 Team has announced that their test driver since 2010 Valtteri Bottas will replace Brunno Senna and join Pastor Maldonado as one of the two drivers for the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship season.         

While Pastor’s third upcoming season with the team comes on the back of a fairly successful 2012 season that saw him win the Spanish Grand Prix, Valtteri has only been a test driver for Williams since 2010. During this time as a reserve driver Valtteri did take part in a number of Friday practice sessions, impressing with his pace and maturity from the outset and so has been offered the opportunity to compete in the Formula One World Championship by his team for the first time starting 2013.

Speaking about his new role, Valtteri commented: ‘’It has always been my life-long dream to compete in the Formula One World Championship. To do so with one of the most legendary teams in the sport is incredibly special. I’ve really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat. I’m looking forward to getting my Formula One career started and enjoying a lot of success with Williams.’’

Valtteri’s team mate Pastor Maldonado is always excited about his contract renewal for 2013 and said; ‘’I’m really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013. 2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona and we made a big step forward in terms of performance. I have a lot of confidence in the team and hopefully next year will see us move even further up the grid and taste more success.’’

Sir Frank Williams, Founder and Team Principal is also looking forward to the season ahead and is eager to see what results Pastor and Valtteri can bring for Williams Team in the near future. He also bid farewell to driver Bruno Senna for his contribution to the team over the past year and wished him luck going forward.