Bottas saw confidence drop: 'It was getting a bit annoying'

Valtteri Bottas has had a positive first season at Alfa Romeo. The Finn finished in tenth place with 49 points, while his teammate Guanyu Zhou put up just six points. Despite his achievements, Bottas stated in conversation with Racer that he also had a down period.

The former Mercedes driver managed to finish in the points no less than six times in the first seven race weekends. Only the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix came to nothing, but that did involve a retirement. However, this was followed by a period of almost four months in which he finished outside the top 10 each time, with which Bottas struggled.

"Of course you enjoy it more when the results are better — that’s how it goes," Bottas explained. "For sure it was getting a bit annoying when it was actually so many races that I didn’t score. It also hurts your confidence — it’s the same for the team."

However, Bottas picked up points again in the closing stages of the season by finishing 10th and ninth in Mexico and Brazil respectively. It ensured that the Finnish driver fully regained his enjoyment of the sport. "I’ve enjoyed it a lot and still enjoying it," he said.