By alley - Sep 13, 2017, 9:36 AM ET

Bottas keen to show full potential with new deal

Valtteri Bottas says he will use his new Mercedes contract to try and show the team his full potential after being retained for 2018.

Mercedes announced on Wednesday that it has extended its deal with Bottas

for a further year, with the Finn having joined from Williams at the start of this season. Following two victories and seven further podiums, Bottas believes he has earned the team's trust so far this season and says there is more to come from him the longer he spends with Mercedes.

"I am honored and proud to continue to work with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in 2018 and to remain part of the Mercedes family," Bottas said. "Together, we continue to grow stronger day by day, and by keeping up our hard work I believe the sky is the limit.

"Since joining the team in January, I've enjoyed every day working with them. The welcome and the support from every team member and all the fans has been invaluable. As a driver, I've been able to learn and grow massively, and we have already enjoyed some really good moments this season that I will never forget.

"I've been very impressed by the mentality, commitment and the team spirit this team holds. Partnering Lewis [Hamilton] has also been really good, and I'm enjoying the respect we have and the will to push this team forward together.

"When the team hired me for the 2017 season, they took a leap of faith by putting their trust in my skills. This new contract for 2018 shows that I've earned that trust. I'm happy to have celebrated my first race wins in a Silver Arrow. However, there's always room for improvement and I still have not shown my full potential.

"I will continue to work hard on and off the track, to further improve my driving, get even better results and show that putting their trust in me was the right decision. I want to thank all the board members, the people at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth as well as the race team and all the fans for their support and trust. It means a lot to me."

Bottas currently sits third in the drivers' championship, 41 points adrift of Hamilton and 38 points behind Sebastian Vettel.