F1 News
Bottas: Mercedes must not feel "unbeatable" after successful start
Valtteri Bottas insists Mercedes can't get complacent with performance after a successful start to the season. Without the fastest lap bonus point, Mercedes has scored maximum points from three races.
With a hatrick of one-twos, Bottas doesn't want his team feeling they're "invincible" and "unbeatable." The Finn is cautious, especially as their two rivals, Ferrari and Red Bull, are bringing upgrades to Baku.
“We can’t feel invincible. It’s only three races of the season done, and we’ve seen not all the wins we’ve got and one-twos we’ve got, they’ve not been easy,” Bottas said in an interview on Crash.
“We’ve been performing on a very high level as a team in all the areas and that’s why we have been able to achieve those results but it’s only three out of 21 and we need to keep pushing because everyone is very motivated to finish races ahead of us."
“We are not standing still and we don’t feel that we are unbeatable."
12 months ago, Bottas was leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the final stages. That was until he picked up an unlucky puncture, virtually handing Lewis Hamilton the race win. He knows more than most about the frantic stories Baku can produce.
“It’s a very unique Grand Prix and anything can happen here. Even if your race starts well you have to prepare for anything and really keep focused, minimise all the mistakes through the weekend. It’s very easy to touch the wall in qualifying or practice and your weekend can be compromised," he added.