Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes in 2016 after Nico Rosberg announced his retirement. Since then, Bottas has been going up against Lewis Hamilton every race weekend. To have Lewis Hamilton as your direct competition can’t possibly be easy.

During the pre-race Mercedes press conference, Valtteri Bottas gave his opinion on battling with the most successful Formula 1 driver. He revealed just how much it takes to go toe to toe against Hamilton every weekend.

He said, “It’s no secret that battling with Lewis years and years, I know how much it takes out of me every single week in trying to get 100% out of me.”

“Having fought four years in a row and defeat in terms of championship title is tough to accept and for sure it has an effect when all the title is lost. It’s not quite the same,” he further added.

Schumacher: Valtteri Bottas Won’t Be in the Mercedes Next Year

Valtteri Bottas is taking back a lot of learning from this season

Valtteri Bottas has had a bad run of form since the Imola Grand Prix. The season started on a high for the Finnish driver; however, he has been unable to keep up his strong start.

Bottas explained that he tries to give his 100% every race. He also clarified that the sport is mentally sensitive and exhausting. Hence it gets difficult to do so in every race when there’s not much to ask for.

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As the season comes to an end, Bottas pointed out that he must focus on the next season now. He said, “This year again lots to learn that hopefully, I can use for the future.”

Bottas is currently battling Max Verstappen for the P2 position in the driver’s championship. Max Verstappen’s DNF result last weekend has made things much easier for him. He must finish a P5 or better to secure a Mercedes P1-P2 finish. Rest assured, Max Verstappen will “fully send it” this weekend at Abu Dhabi, as he will aim to split the Mercedes cars in the year-end standings.