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By sports journalist Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) – Finland's Valtteri Bottas said his only goal for 2019 was to win the Formula 1 World Championship, and revealed his disappointment with his 2018 season.
While his teammate at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, clinched his fifth world title, Bottas failed to win a single race and could only rank fifth in the drivers' standings. this season.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend, Bottas told Xinhua of his frustration with the situation.
"The biggest challenge for me this season has been the number of disappointments," said the Finn. "As for the goals that I set for the season, there were many setbacks and sometimes several in a row, so it was hard to come back after those."
The year 2018 Bottas was marked by the lack of luck, especially in Azerbaijan where he had a puncture while he led the race with only two laps to go, and in Russia where he had received the order to let Hamilton go to help the British bid.
However, the 29-year-old was also criticized for his lack of pace against Hamilton, especially after the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the Finn was accused of not being aggressive enough in his pursuit of the race leader, Sebastian Vettel. struggling with worn tires.
Bottas became the first Mercedes driver to finish a season without a race win since Michael Schumacher in 2012, and now holds the dubious honor of most arrivals in second place in a single winless season.
Despite disappointing results, the Monegasque resident said he was determined to take advantage of the experience gained to rebound in 2019.
"2018 is not a season that will feature at the top of my list and I will not remember the results as fondly, but it's a season that will certainly make me grow and become better and stronger." J & # I learned a lot, which can help me in the future. [for next year] tries to win the championship ".
The Finn added that he was inspired by the achievements of his predecessor Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, who had beaten Hamilton to win the 2016 title, after the Brit had won the previous two.
"Lewis is an excellent driver, one of the best in terms of stats, he is very talented and hardworking, and he now has a lot of experience in Formula One, so it will be extremely hard to beat, but he is human well, and there is no driver that is unbeatable. "
Bottas added: "If I thought otherwise, I would like to change the team and be the teammate of someone else, but I do not want it because it motivates me. [beating Lewis] is possible, but it will require me to be at my best, so this is something I will have to try to find during the school holidays. "
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