Having won the Formula Renault Eurocup and GP3 championship, when Valtteri Bottas made the move up to F1 in 2013 with the mighty Williams, great things were expected.

2014 and 2015 were standout seasons for the Finn with the Grove outfit, and clearly a major factor when Mercedes was left looking for a teammate for Lewis Hamilton following the shock retirement of Nico Rosberg at the end of 2016.

While his debut season proved the German outfit - and previously Frank Williams - had made a good choice, an altogether mixed season in 2018, left many wondering where it had all gone wrong.

Without doubt, though retained by Mercedes for a third season, 2019 is make or break for the Finn, for waiting anxiously in the wings is Esteban Ocon, who would very much like to be back on the F1 grid sooner rather than later, and preferably in a silver car. And then there’s George Russell.

Though his 2018 disappointment was a combination of bad luck, team orders and haphazard form, the Finn goes a little further in judging himself, claiming that he hasn't, in his own eyes, achieved anything in F1.

"I still haven't achieved anything in Formula 1, so for myself I still have a lot to achieve," he told reporters. "I do want to meet my targets, so, yes, I still have a lot to do in F1.

"I feel like I have nothing to prove for anybody else, except me," he continued. "The team knows exactly what I'm capable of doing, but it's going to be up to me, and us as a team, to work hard to be able to perform on my best level all the time. And I know exactly what I can do if I can perform at my very best.

"It was a disappointing season," he said, referring to last year, "and nearly made me angry to myself that it's been six years in F1 and I've not achieved my target yet.

"I do have time," he admitted. "But I'm starting to realise you definitely only have one career.

"I don't want to be in a situation again that I feel like that, that I start to question myself, if I could have done something better. I just want to make sure this year I do everything I can to achieve those targets.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to achieve those," he insisted. "Mentally prepared to put it all in. It all comes down to details and that is for me to try to be the best me I can.

"I can't change certain things, how I drive," he added, "but I know what I can do if I perform on my best level. I've been able to match or beat Lewis on race pace and qualifying, I know I can do it, and now it's just hard work to be there more consistently."