Bottas cautious with predictions: 'A Red Bull circuit on paper'

Valtteri Bottas is still in the shadow of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and so far this season the Finn has failed to really impress. The upcoming Monaco Grand Prix will also be a tough one for Bottas, considering he has only finished on the podium once in his career here. This was third place in 2019.

Difficulty with qualification

During Wednesday's press conference, attended by Motorsport-TotalBottas explained that he often had enough speed to claim a podium position. The problem, however, has been in qualifying, where Bottas has never been able to really rise above himself in terms of performance. This is a crucial factor in a Grand Prix at this track, and one which has prevented him from excelling.

The real difference will be made in Q3 of qualifying, with the drivers only then going to be at the absolute limit. Unless Q1 and Q2 are really tight, but that shouldn't matter much to Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. After all, in terms of development and performance, they are just ahead of the rest. Still, Bottas can't help but put Mercedes in the underdog role, as Monaco is "on paper" a good circuit for Red Bull.

Future at Mercedes

When asked Bottas also commented on his future at Mercedes. At the moment the team has not contracted any drivers for 2022, although it is likely that Lewis Hamilton will stay. Whether that includes Bottas is not clear at the moment, he indicated that he would like to see an early deal. This is because then it is not a "distraction".

For now, Bottas is aiming for July/early August when possible contract talks could take place. Bottas: "I think the August break is usually a good deadline." Whether it comes to that remains to be seen, it will undoubtedly have to do with his performance, which the Finn clearly realises. For example, he says in conclusion, "I just want to win races. That's all I'm thinking about at the moment."