Bottas: 'Of course it won't look good if he beats me fair and square'

Due to the absence of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas suddenly has a new teammate for the Sakhir Grand Prix. George Russell is the right man and Bottas knows that it 'won't look good' if he is beaten by the talented Briton in Bahrain.

Bottas is being asked what it would mean for his future if he were defeated by Russell this weekend. "I haven't really thought about it and it's difficult to know what to expect from George in terms of performance," replies Bottas according to Motorsport.com.

"He knows the team well, but also it's a different car that he has been testing and lots of new things. And also... I don't really know what to say to that question. I haven't thought [about] it in that sense and if I have to give some kind of answer I say if he beats me, yeah for sure it wouldn't look so good on me if I have a normal race and if he beats me fair and square," the Mercedes driver adds. "So obviously I will try to avoid that."

It is suggested that the Sakhir Grand Prix could be a 'showdown' between Bottas and Russell for a seat in 2022, but the Finn doesn't want to know about that. "I know that you like to speculate things and create drama and 'showdowns' etc. But I doubt George thinks that way and at least I don't.I think it's a great opportunity for George, a great opportunity to learn a lot and to show what we can do with the team."