F1: Symonds says Bottas will be a world champion

Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds has no doubt that Valtteri Bottas will be a Formula 1 world champion one day.

Bottas spent his rookie F1 campaign at the back of the field as the Williams proved uncompetitive in 2013. But the Finn was one of the stars of last season with the revitalized team, finishing on the podium six times on his way to fourth place in the drivers' standings.

Symonds is convinced about Bottas's potential, and he reckons the 25-year-old is championship material.

"I'm really impressed with him," said Symonds. "He's very bright and he's very quick. He doesn't make many mistakes and when he does he learns from them.

"He's got a great personality and he's a real team player. I'm absolutely convinced that he's got the potential to be a world champion.

"I've worked with a few world champions in their early days and I've no doubt that Valtteri will be a world champion."

Symonds says it is not just Bottas's speed that makes him remarkable, but the other attributes that combine to make him championship caliber.

"It certainly isn't just one thing," he added. "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.

"I just would really, really, want that to be in a Williams car and it would be a great story."

Originally on Autosport.com