Valtteri Bottas revealed that he thinks he “needs to be proud” of his time at Mercedes and of all his accomplishments with the team.
Bottas left Mercedes for Alfa Romeo after a five-year association with the team. He won ten races in their car, including the 2021 Turkish GP.
The Finn’s time at the Brackley outfit was a success, having helped the team to five Constructors’ Championships in a row. However, on the personal front, he never managed to mount a challenge to his illustrious teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Barring the odd qualifying session victories, he couldn’t quite match Hamilton’s pace and subsequently his charges towards the Drivers’ Championship. Nevertheless, Bottas revealed that he “needs to be proud” of his time at Mercedes and of all his accomplishments at the team.
As quoted by the Race, when asked if he regretted not being a title contender, Bottas said, “I think it’s a bit of both.
“The biggest thing is for me it feels a bit of a failure that I couldn’t win a title in these five years with Mercedes and Lewis always manages to win it. But in that sense, Lewis is the best driver in Formula 1 history. Knowing that sometimes I can beat him, it’s a nice thing.
“You always aim for perfection and if you’re not perfect, you can’t be happy. So that’s what it is.
“But I’m sure when I go ahead with a different team, I think I’ll have a different kind of perspective when I’m outside this team, that there’s so many things that I can definitely be proud of.
“I need to be proud. And I need to try to be positive as well.”
Part of the sport
“It’s been quite up and down, and sometimes it’s for a short term. Sometimes it can be for a longer term – like, months,” he continued.
“I think it’s the beauty of the sport and the beauty of high-level competition that it’s like a constant wave.
“Sometimes you ride on a high for some time and sometimes you’re in a low for some time. I’m still here, still pushing on and still enjoying it.”
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