Bottas: I'm "working harder than ever before"

Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he is ‘working harder than ever before’ in his attempt to reach his personal Formula 1 goal in his career.

Bottas has started off this season strong in comparison to last year with wins in Australia and Azerbaijan, whilst finishing on the podium at every race other than Canada.

The Finn currently sits second in the championship, 39 points off Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who he believes he has a bigger hunger for wins than.
 
Bottas said to ESPN: “I think I’m hungrier for the wins, I think that’s a big strength.

“I still haven’t achieved anything compared to my personal goals in F1, so I am definitely working harder than ever before.”

Bottas also expressed how honest he is with himself after performances, using explicit language to criticise himself as well as positives.

“Sometimes I say, ‘You’re a f***ing c***! You are stupid!’ and sometimes I say, ‘You are the best’,” he added.

“I just like being honest with myself.

“You can always improve and there are always excuses of all kinds in this sport, but accepting your weaknesses and strengths is what works for me.”

The Finn claimed that this kind of mindset came from a young age when he realised he needed to put all his attention into racing if he were to get something out of it.

Bottas said: “When I was 12 there was a big shift in mindset and I realised that if I want to get something out of it then I need to work hard and focus all my energy just for this sport and that’s when I started training and taking things more seriously.

“I became a lot more self-critical and analysed the driving more and more, and that was when I was 12.”

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