No Hamilton mind games in 2018 - Bottas

No Hamilton mind games in 2018 - Bottas

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 28 February 2018 16:20

Valtteri Bottas says he will let his driving do the talking rather than engage in "mental games" with Mercedes team-mate and reigning drivers' champion Lewis Hamilton in 2018 as he plots an improvement on last season's third-place finish in the standings.

Bottas enjoyed positive spells at the beginning and end of his maiden season with the Silver Arrows.

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But a slump in the middle of the season left him chasing Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton in the title fight.

As last season, Bottas begins the campaign with just a one-year contract, but he believes he will prove his worth.

"I just want to win as many races as I can and that way the championship, I don't need to change anything else what I do," he said.

"I'm not going to start for example playing any mental games or anything in the team, because I think like this it works well. It is up to me how I perform on track, and I'll decide if I'll show muscle when it's needed.

"Every driver has weaknesses, that's how it goes, but rather than focusing too much on him I'm going to spend my energy and focus on myself and my performance on track, and if I perform at the level that I'm aiming to every single race, I hope that will do the job.

"I'm not going to start waste my energy playing any games."