Bottas strived for perfection and can not be happy about time at Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas became an official Alfa Romeo driver on 1 January. His time with Mercedes has come to an end. A period full of highs and lows, in which teammate Lewis Hamilton almost always had the upper hand.

Failed

In several interviews, Bottas already admitted to having failed, as he never won the drivers' world title. Indeed, each season the dominant Lewis Hamilton played a minor role in what has long been the strongest team on the grid. Only on one good day Bottas rose above himself and was too fast for everyone. Hamilton included.

Bottas eventually managed to win ten Grands Prix. Reflecting on these races, Bottas let The Race that these were the highlights for him. Especially in the knowledge that Hamilton is, according to the Finn, the best driver in the history of Formula 1. Still, there remains that nasty aftertaste. “You always aim for perfection and if you’re not perfect, you can’t be happy", he says.

Be proud

Bottas will undoubtedly find it harder to secure a race win at Alfa Romeo. Perhaps it is there - from the outside - that he can only put his career at Mercedes into perspective, he stated in the interview. “I need to be proud. And I need to try to be positive as well.”