Breaking news
Formula 1
Bottas "far away" from level he wants to be at
Valtteri Bottas says he is still “far away” from the level of Formula 1 driver he believes he can be and wants to be “much better” than he is now.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Sep 17, 2019, 1:52 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The five-time grand prix winner has been retained by Mercedes for another season and 2020 will mark his fourth year with the title-winning team.
Bottas has yet to put together a full championship challenge but led the points earlier this year and is on course for his career-best finish as he is a comfortable second in the standings, 62 points behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Asked by Motorsport.com how close he is to the level he wants to be, Bottas said: “I’m not yet there! I keep getting better the old I get.
“I still have many years left, and I keep learning all the time, keep getting better and feeling more and more comfortable in the car every year.
“I’m still far away from what I believe I can be and my goal is to be much, much better than what I am currently. We’ll keep working for that.”
Read Also:
Bottas has formed an effective partnership with Hamilton in their time together, dutifully performing a de facto number two role.
He has scored 10 pole positions and 32 podiums, but the last two seasons Bottas has had dips in form that have raised questions about his ultimate potential.
However, he believes that not tumbling out of title contention in 2019, as he did last year, will allow him to prove that he can maintain good form to the end of the season this time.
“It’s definitely a better feeling for the end of the year,” he said. “I also feel very good support from the team and the points gap between me and Lewis is not night and day.
“You never know what will happen in the championship. There might be opportunities for the championship, no point giving up, we have seven races and things can happen.
“It’s encouraging for me to see I can perform. There’s no doubt from my side that I can, when I will be able to be at my best, when title hopes and motivation is there, I know I can do it.
“I look forward to Singapore, another race that has been difficult in the past, Lewis has been really strong there. We’ll give a big effort there to have a good and strong weekend.”
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1 W10
Photo by: Alessio Morgese / Luca Rossini
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Montoya: Vettel's troubles "technical", not mental
Next article Wolff didn’t lose trust in Renault despite Ocon snub
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Mercedes
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
2 h
Mercedes: “We had people who hadn’t done a live pitstop for 15 years” in Singapore GP
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Christian Horner: Kimi Antonelli has 'earned' the right to be Mercedes' number one
Latest news
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
47 min
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 50 min
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
1 h
Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe