Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has been in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton ever since he joined the Silver Arrows back in 2017. However, in a bid to outdo his teammate and a seven-time champion, the Finn has revealed that he went through a vigorous training routine after the 2020 season wrapped up.

Bottas revealed that his training focused not just on the physical aspect but also the mental one. He said, “I had the right amount of time off, and then I’ve had another good block of physical training, and from that side of things, I’m feeling very strong.

“The same thing mentally, it feels like everything is in a good balance in my life. There was lots of winter training, pretty extreme training as well, trying to maintain the Finnish ‘Sisu’ attitude, and doing things that make you tough, basically. It’s been good.”

Since joining the Brackley-based outfit, Bottas has played the role of number two to Hamilton. In the last four seasons, he has been criticized for not being able to take the battle to Lewis on a consistent basis. He has shown flashes of brilliance but has struggled to display his pace during the race when it really matter.

Perhaps this time, with all the training, we finally see a Valtteri that is capable of mounting a sustained title challenge.

Valtteri Bottas is working on the mental side of things

The nine-time Grand Prix winner said, “A lot of the work and focus for me this season is the mental side of things, I’m trying to be mentally at my best at the grands prix, and trying to find the right way of approaching every single grand prix weekend, and to try and find more often the ‘flow’ state.”

However, the Finn was not too keen on divulging the finer aspects of ‘mental training.’ Nevertheless, fans would hope that this is the key to unlocking Bottas’ full potential ahead of what seems to be a do or die season.

With George Russell knocking on the door and voicing his desire to battle Hamilton as a teammate, 2021 could be Valtteri’s last season driving a Mercedes. He would need to drive a near-flawless campaign to have any hopes of keeping his seat.

Can the former Williams driver win the world title at the fifth time of asking? Only time will tell.

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