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Bottas lifts lid on time at Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton admission
Valtteri Bottas opened up about his time at Mercedes and made an admission about Lewis Hamilton. The Finnish driver also feels like he is a better driver than he was during his years at the German team despite being unable to show that in terms of results at Sauber.
Bottas was thrown in at the deep end after Nico Rosberg suddenly announced his retirement from F1 following his 2016 World Championship win. The Finnish driver had some previous success with Williams, earning nine podiums for his efforts. Toto Wolff promoted him to Mercedes, where he competed alongside Hamilton.
Bottas won 10 Grands Prix and secured 20 pole positions during his five years as a Mercedes driver. He was always talking about taking the fight to Hamilton for the World title, and he often started seasons positively. But in his final year, he realised he wasn't good enough to beat Hamilton.
“It took me until the end of my five years with Mercedes to realise and accept that I couldn’t beat Lewis for a whole season. He was really at the peak of his ability then. But that’s life. That’s racing," Bottas told Auto Motor und Sport. Bottas finished second in the World Championship twice.
Will Bottas stay in Formula 1 beyond 2024?
Bottas left Mercedes after the 2021 season and found a long-term contract at Sauber [previously known as Alfa Romeo]. The Finnish driver admits that he is more relaxed than he was at Mercedes. His contract expires at the end of the current season, and his future is not yet confirmed as Audi [who will soon take over from Sauber] weighs up its options. Still, Bottas feels he is a stronger driver than he was at Mercedes.
"I haven't felt any signs of me getting worse. If anything, then I get better with the experience. You learn to solve problems in different ways. I have the feeling that I drive even better than I did during my time at Mercedes, even if it is not so visible from the outside," Bottas concluded. He hasn't scored a point yet during the 2024 season but will try to add to his tally in the remaining six race weekends.
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