“You are never fully satisfied” – Valtteri Bottas has “mixed” feelings about his Mercedes accomplishments

Outgoing Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas says he has mixed feelings about his accomplishments with the team over the last five years. He was a teammate to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for the Brackley-based team.

As he prepares to join Alfa Romeo for 2022, the Finnish driver says he is trying to focus on the positives from his time with Mercedes.

In an interview with the New York Times, Bottas was asked if he felt he could have achieved more during his time with the team. He replied saying:

“Yes, I definitely feel like, in a way, it is a failure. If I could go back in time, if I could relive those moments, I would still just drive my best, as I did.”

“Obviously, when I joined the team in 2017 the only thing in my mind was to win the drivers’ championship. That didn’t happen, but I need to look at the positives.”

“I have grown so much as a driver and as a human being. I’ve learned so much with the team and we have actually achieved pretty cool things together. That’s also many positives that I will take on board.”

“I think in this sport you are never fully satisfied, you know, but I think, five years, I have achieved something, and I am sure that will help me in the future.”

Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 from Williams after Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement at the end of 2016. Throughout his time at Mercedes, Bottas started 101 races, scored 10 Grand Prix victories, 47 podiums, and a further 20 pole positions. Furthermore, he played a crucial role in earning five of the team’s eight consecutive constructors titles.

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton surely benefitted from Valtteri Bottas playing the “team game”. Fans, however, have often criticized Bottas for failing to mount a serious challenge to Hamilton for the world title.

Furthermore, Valtteri Bottas has often come under fire for his inability to overtake cars and move up the grid when he is out of position in races. Bottas may have displayed an excellent qualifying pace throughout his career, consistently outqualifying Lewis Hamilton – considered one of the greatest qualifiers, with 103 poles to his name. He has, however, struggled to convert those poles into solid results come race day.

In 2018, during his second year with Mercedes, Bottas finished fifth in the drivers' championship despite having the best car on the grid. This nearly cost Mercedes the constructors' title that year.

Valtteri Bottas’s inconsistency could also be attributed to the fact that he was on a rolling contract with Mercedes throughout his time on the team. The Finn has previously delved into how the constant pressure to deliver and concerns over his seat for the following year hampered his performance.

Heading to Alfa Romeo, Valtteri Bottas finally has a multi-year contract and hopes that the stability can help extract the best out of him.

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Valtteri Bottas feels his treatment by Mercedes “fair”

Mercedes have often come under fire for the way they have treated Valtteri Bottas during certain races. On various occasions, the team has compromised his races. The Finn has even been asked to give up potential victories to help his teammate Lewis Hamilton in his fight for the championship. Sochi 2018, Germany 2018, Spain 2021 are a few such prominent examples.

Despite that, Valtteri Bottas feels that Mercedes treated him fairly during his time on the team. During the same interview, he was asked how he felt about obeying team orders to help his team-mate, Hamilton. He said:

“I would say the first time that happened was probably in 2018, and it was really hard to accept. It was pretty tough.”

“That wasn’t good for me mentally, the space I was in mentally. As time goes on, do you accept it if that’s the situation you’re in, being behind in the points? It makes it difficult.”

“I learned how this sport is actually so much more mental. If you really compare, if it’s a physical or a mental sport, I feel like it’s so much about the head.”

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has often described Valtteri Bottas as the best teammate he has ever had in F1. The seven-time world champion also heavily lobbied Mercedes against replacing him with another driver.