Valtteri Bottas is currently in the midst of his 5th season for Mercedes which is likely to come to a halt by the end of 2021. And of course, despite the sloppy ongoing season, Bottas has undeniably played a crucial role in winning Mercedes the constructor’s titles and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, the driver’s titles.

Hence, the fact that he managed to impress a top-field team like Mercedes in the very first season in 2017 was quite incredible. However, Bottas revealed it wasn’t as easy, considering he had to replace a world champion, and the expectations from him were soaring high.

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What did Valtteri Bottas say?

In an exclusive interview with HYPEBEAST, Bottas opened up that he had big shoes to fill, as his predecessor, Nico Rosberg had just retired after winning an F1 title. The Finn further reckoned that there was always the pressure to deliver each season, which could be mentally draining.

“I definitely had big shoes to fill. You’re replacing a guy who had just won the world championship and then he decided to stop,” he said.

“I was the next one in line and the team chose me so for sure. In this sport, there’s always some form of pressure. But it was a big jump in my career and I had to make sure that I could make the most out of the opportunity, to perform and get a new contract for the following year,” Bottas added.

How Bottas earned the trust of Mercedes

Bottas opened up that the 2017 Russian Grand Prix was one of the game-changing race weekends with respect to earning Mercedes’ trust. The Finn defeated his championship-winning teammate, Hamilton, to secure his first win at Sochi.

“I’ve had to do that pretty much every year because in this sport you always have to prove yourself. I think as the years go by, you start to learn how to deal with it. And luckily for me, it only took a few races into the season to get my first win, which earned the trust of the team,” Bottas revealed.

However, Bottas is very much losing the plot with Mercedes at the moment. After a poor end to 2020, Bottas’ start to 2021 has been way short of anything spectacular. Despite arriving at the season’s halfway point, Bottas is still searching for his first win.

Hence, with Mercedes days numbered, can Bottas end his phase with the Brackley outfit with a flourish? We’ll know in time.

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