Bottas is going into battle: "I want to be champion this year"

Valtteri Bottas is pretty much in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, but he has the material at his disposal to become world champion. In recent years he hasn't been able to beat Lewis Hamilton in the title fight, but he is now more motivated than ever to achieve the highest possible result and that's becoming champion.

Bottas has often indicated that he is ready for it and in the media he was soon referred to by numbers, which went up to Bottas 3.0. In the end it all comes down to performing on the track and he says he's more prepared than ever for this new season.

"The goal this year is to become world champion. Every less result is inferior to that", says Bottas at the press conference, "I have done everything in recent months to prepare myself for that."

With the extra time the drivers had because of the pandemic, Bottas is also fitter than before and that should help. "I've had a lot of time to do things besides racing. So I was able to focus on what I could improve on myself and in that I mainly relied on my feelings."

Crucial in this uncertain season is to be there right from the start and to keep errors to an absolute minimum. Something Bottas also realizes: "There will be fewer races this season, so every mistake will cost more. We really need to be on top of that this season."