F1, Valtteri Bottas vents about years at Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas returns to years at Mercedes: “It was difficult to accept a supporting role”

In an interview with Viaplay, Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas returned to talk about his time at Mercedes: having arrived in 2017 in place of Nico Rosberg with high ambitions, the Finn failed to establish himself as an equal to fellow driver Lewis Hamilton, to whom over the course of the seasons he often provided a supporting role instead. “It certainly wasn’t easy to run like that,” he admitted.

“At the beginning I had so much pressure, I wanted to win everything. It was really hard to accept what didn’t happen in the early years. And also to accept a supporting role, that was something I wasn’t good at.”

Bottas admitted that the atmosphere was not always idyllic: “It wasn’t really a relaxed atmosphere, if I’m honest. It’s very different from what I feel now at Alfa Romeo. Now I’m enjoying F1 immensely.” In any case, Bottas saves his years at Mercedes: “It was a great experience with many wins, poles, and five constructors’ titles.”