Valtteri Bottas says he is paying no attention to the rumours suggesting he could be replaced by George Russell at Mercedes for 2021 but is aware that he can do “much better” than he has in recent races.
Although seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was absent for last Sunday’s Sakhir Grand Prix due to coronavirus, Bottas remains 127 points behind his team-mate in the F1 drivers’ standings.
Williams driver Russell took Hamilton’s seat in Bahrain and the 22-year-old, who is signed up to Mercedes junior driver programme, produced a sublime performance.
He qualified a close second to Bottas and then overtook the Finn at the first corner and led for much of the race, only to be denied victory by a Mercedes pit-stop error and then a puncture.
The young Briton’s performance has led to suggestions he could replace Bottas for 2021, although the 31-year-old – himself a former Williams racer – extended his contract with the Silver Arrows in August.
And Bottas, ahead of this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, insists he has not read stories about himself in the media having finished 14th, eighth and eighth in the past three races since back-to-back second-placed finishes at Portugal and Imola.
“Obviously on Sunday I got to deal with all the media,” Bottas told reporters. “When you’re the driver having a bad race, for sure you have to deal with it. I did.
“I’ve learned from the past that sometimes the best thing to do is to block everything out and not look at anything.
“After Sunday I’ve really not looked at a single headline or a single news article or social media. That’s sometimes what you have to do.
“It worked for me, I feel again like I’m full of energy for the new weekend. I’m in a place that I can perform so that’s amazing.
“I think every driver has their own ways to reset and get back up when you have a bad moment. Since Imola it’s been a run of really, really bad luck.
“I cannot remember the last time I was on the podium! I definitely feel I’ve not been performing at my best in the last three races but of course I still try and try to extract everything I can.
“There’s many factors in this sport, sometimes it’s luck, sometimes it’s what you do yourself in the car, outside the car.
“All I can say is that I can do much better if you look at the last four races on average. I feel that I need to do better.”
Bottas can secure a second-placed finish ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the final F1 driver’s standings this weekend provided he finishes fifth or higher.
He said: “For sure it would be better than third. Being in this team as a Mercedes driver I think the team deserves to be one and two with the car we have this year. Of course that is the target.
Speaking this week about the idea of replacing Bottas with Russell for 2021, team principal Wolff said: “He’s a Williams driver, and is signed up to Williams. And our driver line-up is Valtteri and Lewis.
“So I don’t see this as a realistic situation at that moment of time [2021]. But I can understand that it would be an interesting situation, both in the team and maybe a bit of a wild ride for all of us. Maybe we’ll have that in the future.”
Russell himself addressed the situation over his future ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he will return to Williams with Hamilton back after recovering from COVID-19.
“That was just a throwaway remark in the heat of the moment,” he said when asked about a comment in which he claimed he hoped to have given Wolff “a headache not just for 2022 but maybe sooner” after Bahrain.
“Emotions were high and what have you. Ultimately I have a contract and I’m a Williams driver for 2021.”
Mercedes confirmed Hamilton’s return in a statement on Thursday night: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Lewis Hamilton will drive for the team in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Lewis tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday prior to completion of his self-isolation period in Bahrain. This enabled him to travel to Abu Dhabi on Thursday afternoon, and he tested negative on arrival.
“Lewis has therefore completed the protocols required by the FIA for his entry to the paddock tomorrow [Friday] and will be able to take part in the race weekend.
“George Russell will return to Williams Racing for the final event of the 2020 season.”
