Bottas to fight for world title again: 'We're starting from scratch'

Valtteri Bottas has been Lewis Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes since 2017, making him the only driver with the same equipment as the seven-time world champion. However, the Finn has never been able to really lay claim to the title. That should change in 2021.

Mercedes had its hands full when Nico Rosberg decided to quit at the end of 2016 after winning his world title. However, a suitable candidate was found with Bottas. He fulfilled the role of second fiddle perfectly, where Lewis took the titles. Every year, however, Valtteri hopes for more, as he did this season.

Bottas is demanding

''This year I am demanding more from myself than ever. Of course not too much, but my ultimate goal for this season is that after the last race in Abu Dhabi I can look back and say I did everything I could to win the title. That is my ultimate goal and so are all the people around me who I work with,'' Bottas said according to Motorsport.com.

''I put too much pressure on myself in some of my years in Formula One, for sure. There have been times when I allowed myself to have too much pressure from the outside, but sometimes it was also the other way around, that maybe there wasn't enough pressure on my part.''

Chasing the world title

In 2021, however, there are new opportunities for Valtteri. His teammate has won his seventh world title in 2020 and is hoping for an eighth, but Bottas will do everything he can to prevent this from happening. Indeed, with George Russell warming up in the wings, the pressure is on.

''This year we are starting from scratch and on a new page, and I absolutely believe I can fight for the title. That is of course the ultimate goal this season. But we still have a long way to go and you have to look at it step by step'', concludes the Mercedes driver.