03/03/2021
NEWS STORY
It's clearly that time of the year again, as Valtteri Bottas insists that he can fight for the title.
Though he has never gone down the full subservient route of, say, Rubens Barrichello, it's fair to say that since joining Mercedes has never constituted the threat to Lewis Hamilton that, say, Nico Rosberg did.
Though he raised his game a little last season, the Finn is still unable to challenge Hamilton on a regular basis, even if one ignores the presumed restraints the team has placed on him.
Nonetheless, with an admirable straight-face yesterday, Bottas insisted that he is targeting the title this year.
"This year, although Lewis has won all the titles since we've been team-mates, going into this year we're starting from fresh and with a new page," said the Finn, "and yes, I absolutely believe I can fight for the title... and that's, of course, the ultimate goal this season.
"That's my target," he added, "but it's a long way until that and you need to really take it step by step.
This year I'm demanding more from myself than ever,” he continued. "Obviously, without overdoing things, but the ultimate goal for this season is that when I get to the last race, in Abu Dhabi, I can look back and say that I did 100-per-cent, I did every single bit to win the title. That's the ultimate goal for this season.
"And that's the same for all the people around me, whoever I'm working with," he added. "I'll demand as much as I feel like I need to, to get the support and the information that I need.
"Maybe, that way, you know, can be a bit more selfish, but one year in a lifetime, giving it everything that you have is actually a short time and that's the kind of mind-set that I have. That's including me and people around me.
"In some of my years in F1 I've definitively put too much pressure on myself," he said, "there's been times when I've taken too much pressure from outside and vice-versa, that there hasn't been maybe enough pressure from my side. It's all about finding that right balance and kind of playing with that.
"The only thing is it to let the team know, in terms of how much they are pressuring you is to discuss about things and the same thing with myself. I have to be self-honest with everything and try to find a good way, heading into every single Grand Prix.
"But that's the tricky part and it's the same in every sport. There's never been any sports person that has got 100-per-cent out of themselves in every single event they've done, but I need to get there more often... that's the question."
Check out our Mercedes W12 reveal gallery, here.