Hakkinen confident "mega quick" Bottas will recover from poor 2018

Two-time champion Mika Hakkinen has confidence that his fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas will recover from his very disappointing 2018 season, as Hakkinen thinks the talent and work ethic of the 29-year-old will prevail.

Bottas himself admitted that this probably was the worst year of his F1 career, as his second year at Mercedes ended with no wins for him and a fifth place in the drivers' championship, even though his team won both titles.

The Finn started the year well, as he only trailed six to five in terms of qualifying results to his teammate Lewis Hamilton and came close to winning several times, but a combination of bad luck and lack of cojones prevented him from doing so. In the second half of the season, he got completely overwhelmed by the unstoppable Hamilton, and especially after the infamous team order in Russia, his confidence seemed at an all-time low.

“Valtteri is mega quick, fit and hard-working,” Hakkinen countered in his column on Unibet.

"I have no doubt that he will take the next steps towards winning races and a world championship title.

“Victory in Azerbaijan was taken away from him by a puncture, and for much of the season he had to support Lewis Hamilton as the Mercedes team came under pressure from Ferrari,” he explained.

"One thing you learn quickly in Formula 1 is that the road to the top is not always straight.

“I remember when I was racing against team-mates and great names such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. I was not yet winning, but I learned a lot from watching them, working hard in the team and improving step by step.

“It’s all about constantly improving, one day being quicker than your team-mate, sometimes slower.”