Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas planning F1 stay for "multiple years"

Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas planning F1 stay for "multiple years"

Bottas concedes F1 now faces "a very strange season ahead"

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 5 May 2020 15:13

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Valtteri Bottas is targeting being in Formula 1 "for multiple years" in a bid to achieve his goal of becoming a world champion.

After seven seasons in the sport, and the last three with Mercedes, the closest Bottas has come to realising his ambition was last season when he finished second - and 87 points - behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas concedes this period of time away from F1, with the opening 10 grands prix either cancelled or postponed, has made him appreciate the sport more, and made him more determined to win a title.

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Speaking in Mercedes' latest 'Deep Dive' programme, Bottas said: "Always when you can't do the things you would like to do it makes you appreciate it more, which is a shame, and I'm sure we can learn from this.

"I'm sure many people now in this situation have had things in the mind they would love to do, but they can't . "Maybe when things are back to normal, a good lesson for all of us will be to appreciate the things we are able to do in everyday life.

"I really want to continue for multiple years because I want to reach my targets. I really enjoy it, I love it. I miss F1."

Motivated by his title-chasing desire, Bottas added: "Since a kid, I've had this target in my career to be a world champion, and obviously I still haven't achieved it, so that keeps me going, and that keeps me motivated.

"Every single year that makes me want to do everything better than I've done before. Okay, you can't always get there. There are always ups and downs in your career, but those downs you need to turn into a strength.

"I think now, within myself, how things are in my life, and also in terms of my driving, and how we are working with the team, we've definitely found the right path, and I really feel the improvements at the moment. That's why I'm eager to get driving."

F1 is planning to start the season in early July in Austria, with the paddock strictly controlled in what F1's managing director Ross Brawn has described as a "biosphere"-type scenario.

As to Bottas' approach to the campaign, and to halt Hamilton's bid for a record-equalling seventh title, he added: "It is a different season for every driver, an exceptional Formula 1 season because everything is so postponed.

"Once things start, it will be pretty full-on, and you need to be in the rhythm quickly because we still don't have 100% confirmation how many races we are going to do, so maybe the season will be less races than normal most likely.

"So you really need to make every single grand prix count, and to find that driving rhythm and be on the pace from the first weekend onwards, that's going to be the key.

"So yeah, trying to be as ready to jump in the car whenever it will happen. It's a very specific and very strange season ahead, for sure."