“I’m not a Nico Rosberg”- Valtteri Bottas on his role at Mercedes

“I’m not a Nico Rosberg”- Valtteri Bottas on people advising him to take a competitive turn against Lewis Hamilton like his predecessor.

Lewis Hamilton is continuously winning the Formula 1 Championships ever since his former teammate Nico Rosberg called it quits from F1.

His replacement, Valtteri Bottas has been assigned a passive role, where the team is content by his odd podiums and wins, but are avoiding him to challenge Hamilton directly.

And speaking ahead of 2021, Bottas has confessed that he would be working in the team’s best interests instead of spoiling the status quo by challenging the seven-time world champion.

“I think that the strength we have in the team is definitely that we can work as a team,” he told Autosport. “We can, for sure race hard, but we can also leave it there.

“And we know the fact that if we can work together, that’s how the team is going to benefit in the end. So there’s not going to be any hiding of setups or data or anything. And the team spirit in team sports is underestimated.

“I think it’s essential that you keep the motivation up, and no conflicts,” he said.

Let him be Valtteri Bottas

The Finn race driver further talked about people advising him to mimic the attitude posed by his predecessor and challenge the supremacy of Hamilton.

“Of course, along the way, there’s been many people suggest I change to be a Nico Rosberg,” he added. “But I’m not a Nico Rosberg. I much prefer to do the talking on the track and race fair.

“I have also been able to get to know Lewis, and I know that there’s no benefit of trying to play with his mind. I’m sure it would be annoying for him, but it would be wasting my energy. And I think he will be getting even more pissed off and drive faster.

“So I think the way I’m doing things, that’s how I want to win. That is my aim,” he concluded.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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