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Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas has defended his performance during the 2020 Formula 1 season, suggesting that it would be difficult for any driver to improve his efforts with Lewis Hamilton as a teammate.
Falling short for the fourth consecutive season in his attempts to beat Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, Bottas has just 205 points to Hamilton’s 332 with one race remaining.
And while, by Bottas’ own admission, 2020 has been a disappointment, he still believes that a similar outcome in 2021 is far from a foregone conclusion.
“Certainly in 2020 I have not achieved the goals that I set for myself,” he said. formulapassion.it. “There have been many strange and unfortunate races for me and races where Lewis was stronger than me.
“In the end, each year more in F1 makes you stronger. In short, this year has not been very different from the previous ones. I have had good and bad moments, like every season. I certainly learned a lot from the losses and every year I become a stronger driver.
“I can’t wait to start the new season starting from a blank sheet in the hope of having a linear season without too many bad luck bumps like punctures and things like that.”
Unfortunately for the Finn, his future with the team has been increasingly clouded with the appearance of Mercedes junior George Russell, who, particularly after Sunday’s Sakhir Grand Prix, where he almost won the race as a substitute for Hamilton, has made it clear to Bottas. ‘seat.
However, Bottas insists that over the course of a full season, it would be difficult for anyone else to do better with Hamilton as a yardstick.
“Of course it is not easy to compete against a teammate like Hamilton who, if we look at the numbers, is the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1,” he said. “It’s not easy to beat him, but in trying I always discover something new about myself and I try to capitalize on the mistakes I make to try not to repeat them.
“But there were also positives this season for me, which I have to bring back to next season as well. I certainly don’t intend to give up, hard work has always paid off in my career and I really believe in that.
“Lewis was the best of all this year, but I think nobody could have done a better job than me on my car. The team can choose any driver each year, but in the end they have always confirmed their trust in me.
Expanding further, Bottas argued that while the point deficit may be large, the gap in actual performance is significantly smaller.
“In qualifying I think I’m at the level of Lewis and even surpass him at times,” he explained. “The difference between me and Lewis lies in the consistency of race performance. Hamilton manages to be at his best on every lap and in every race, without making mistakes. This comes from his talent but also from his great experience.
“In pure performance I can beat him, but in terms of performance consistency he is still superior to me. This is not a big difference, but very small things that then make a big difference in the result. “
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