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Bottas "hungry" ahead of 2019 season

16:40, 15 Feb 2019

byJoseph Tyrrell

It was a tough year for Valtteri Bottas in 2018, and his place has been under intense scrutiny but Toto Wolff has revealed: “he’s extremely hungry”.

Bottas finished fifth last season behind teammate Hamilton, both Ferraris and Max Verstappen as well as finishing with zero wins to his name.

With Esteban Ocon waiting in the wings Bottas needs a strong 2019 and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has seen a new Bottas.

“Valtteri knows he has the full backing of the team to succeed and he's excited to get back in the car and show his critics what he can do,” Wolff said.

“We had a good chat after the break; he was in a good place and has been able to fully reset after a season that was not always easy for him.

“He was refreshed; he's extremely hungry and wants to start racing again.

“I'm really looking forward to a strong competition between the two of them, racing each other hard and fighting hard against our rivals,” added Wolff.

Mercedes won a fifth title in a row in 2018 and Mercedes need to keep proving themselves with fresh rule changes making racing more competitive.