02/02/2019
NEWS STORY
Valtteri Bottas is keen to put the nightmare of 2018 well and truly behind him.
Despite having the same equipment as his teammate, the Finn was only able to finish fifth in the 2018 standings, while said teammate, Lewis Hamilton, went on to secure his and his team's fifth titles.
Refreshed from a winter break that, among other things, saw him drive over the Andes from Chile to Argentina, the Finn returned to Mercedes Brackley HQ this week to begin his preparations for the season ahead.
However, he reveals, his personal training got underway a few weeks earlier.
"When I got back in early January I started my first training camp and I got quite a bit of training time in," he says. "It was a very good first week and training has been going well since. And I also did some exercise over the holidays. I'm full of energy and I'm looking forward to the new season."
Asked about his return to the factory, he replies: "(It's) like nothing has changed in the past few weeks when I haven't been here. Everyone is working as hard as ever, I think everyone is looking forward to the new season.
"With some regulation changes there are always question marks," he adds, "but I can guarantee everyone has been doing and will be doing everything they can for the new car."
New car, new regulations and training already underway, but what about his mind-set following a tough 2018.
"I am very happy to start a new season, because for me personally 2018 did not go the way I wanted to," he admits. "There was quite a bit of criticism at some stages of 2018, but that's actually been a positive thing for me because it's given me an extra boost!
"I've taken all the points I can learn from last year to come back stronger. And I also found many positives, which I maybe didn't see at the end of the year, but now digging deep I can see those. I can build on all of that for 2019."