Valtteri Bottas admits he was beating himself up last season after losing out to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Bottas is now entering his second year with Mercedes after he was drafted in to replace Nico Rosberg ahead of the 2017 season. With a year of experience under his belt and a new single-year contract in his pocket, Bottas said he will deal with defeat differently in 2018 and look to play to his strengths this season.
« Lewis is a great driver and I should never get upset if he is quicker than me at times, » Bottas said. « Then I just need to accept it and learn from those races.
« For sure I was beating myself up a lot last year when I was struggling but that’s all part of the learning process and you always learn about yourself as well every season.
« I am going in with a good mindset for this year. I know I can do a lot of good things so let’s see race by race. »
Bottas says it is crucial for his future at the team that he performs close to Hamilton’s level this year.
« I know the team, I learned a lot last year and it’s entirely up to me to perform. I think for me to secure a long-term relationship with the team I need results, I need performance, week in, week out, I need to be able to challenge Lewis. That’s it; it’s completely up to me. »
And once again, Bottas ruled out trying to gain a psychological advantage off the track in the same way Rosberg did during his time as Hamilton’s teammate.
« Well, I’m not going to go into a complete mental fight within the team. Instead of that I’m going to focus on my own performance on the track. I will be quick in practice, qualifying and in the races, focusing my energy on that.
« For sure Nico worked very hard, he took three years to beat Lewis, but he beat him by working hard. I believe it’s possible. »
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/22731101/bottas-vows-change-mindset-beating-hamilton-defeats-2017
