I'm not here to finish third, says Bottas - Capital Sports
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Features

I’m not here to finish third, says Bottas

Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas trails his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 38 points © AFP/File / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

SINGAPORE, Singapore, Sep 15 – Valtteri Bottas said he’d see finishing third in the drivers’ championship as a failure after he was handed a new one-year contract by his Formula One team Mercedes.

The Finn trails his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 38 points, and he said he needs to get his act together quickly.

“Anything in Formula One is always possible with seven races to go,” Bottas said ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, the 14th of 20 races this season.

“But I do definitely need to start finishing ahead of Lewis and Sebastian if I want to keep my title hopes alive, and rather sooner than later.”

He added: “I’m not here to finish third. I definitely want to be fighting for the title as long as there is possibilities for that.

“I really want to make the most out of the end of the year and I always set my targets very high, so third is not one of them.”

Bottas has won two races this year and has 197 points, while Hamilton (238 points) and Vettel (235) have 10 victories between them.

A one-year deal could leave Bottas vulnerable at the end of next season, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo among the drivers who will become available.

But Bottas said he now had the opportunity to nail down a spot with Mercedes with his performances this year and next season.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“For sure the team always wants to have options open for the future, I understand 100 percent. But I’m very happy with this. It’s still better than the original contract that I had,” Bottas said.

“As always with my career in F1, it’s going to be completely up to me. If I perform well, there’s no problem and we can have a long future together.”

Advertisement

More on Capital Sports

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 – DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a treat of the world’s best football this week as the 2020-21...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – There is light at the end of the tunnel. After failed promises over the last three years since its...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – Gentrix Shikangwa scored with two minutes left as Vihiga Queens sailed to the final of the CECAFA regional qualifiers...

NFL

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 13 – Kenya’s history making Daniel Adongo, the first Kenyan to play in America’s National Football League (NFL), is now living...

© 2024 Capital Digital Media. Capital Group Limited. All Rights Reserved