F1 News
Bottas backs himself to remain in F1: 'Better than at Mercedes'
Valtteri Bottas is yet to sign a contract for the 2025 Formula One season, but the driver from Finland hopes to remain at Stake F1, the team that is owned by Audi. He has also declared that he is performing better than he did at his previous team.
Bottas: 'I drive better now than I did then at Mercedes'
Bottas was Lewis Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes from 2017 until 2021, and each season, the Germans managed to win the constuctors' title. When in 2022, Bottas was replaced by George Russell, he joined Sauber, who at the time were called Alfa Romeo.
Since then, Bottas earned 49 and then 10 points at the Swiss team, however, he is yet to score largely due the issue with their current car. However, the Finn believes based on performance, he is driving better than he did at his last employer as he hopes to secure a seat for 2025.
"I feel like, yes, especially in qualifyings this year, I haven't felt any signs of being worse. If anything, you keep getting better with experience. You gain more consistency, more confidence. You can solve different issues in a different way. You can adapt to the car the more time you spend in the sport. I feel actually I'm driving better than what I did at Mercedes, but obviously it's not that visible," Bottas revealed. The driver is currently in 22nd place in the drivers' standings, and one of three drivers yet to finish in the Top 10 at a Grand Prix, together with Guanyu Zhou and Logan Sargeant.
This article was written in collaboration with Jeroen Immink
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