From hero to zero: Bottas realises 'everything' has to change
F1 News
- Toby McLuskie
Valtteri Bottas won 10 Grands Prix in his career; as many as James Hunt, Jody Scheckter and Gerhard Berger. Twice, the Finn finished second in the world championship and just as often in third place. It all seems like an eternity ago because for two seasons now Bottas has been mostly hobbling along in Formula 1.
In his time at Mercedes, if he picked up 10 points during a Grand Prix weekend, it was a setback. Last season, that was his total on behalf of Alfa Romeo (now Sauber again). This figure alone shows how tough the season was for Bottas. So highlights, what were they?
Bottas hopes for more highlights
"I think, sadly, I would say that the very first race of the season, we had a solid weekend, scored immediately, everything was looking quite good. But then it's been a tough ride. There's been a few occasions we have scored, but not enough times. So I'm definitely waiting for more highlights next year with a new car," Bottas stated.
The turn of the year is fast approaching, and so are the winter tests. Sauber has a lot of work to do to make sure it does perform well in '24. If it is up to Bottas, his car will change a lot. "In this sport, with the margins we have, it's everything. There's nothing fundamental but the good thing is we do have a completely new car with some new ideas with new people in the team and that's exactly what we need now. So we need to make big steps over the winter. That's the key."