Valtteri Bottas admits he is “enjoying Formula 1 more than ever” since joining Alfa Romeo from Mercedes.
The Finn has been a driver reborn at the Swiss-based team, scoring points in six of the first seven races and even battling his former team during their early season struggles.
Results have tailed off since Baku, however, with P7 in Canada his only top 10 but Bottas is confident there is more to come from him as a driver going forward.
“That is quite hard to measure because obviously everything is new this year,” he told The Race when asked how his performances compare to last year.
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“But in terms of how I feel in the car, I feel really comfortable. I don’t think I’ve peaked yet as a driver. I think it’s individual and for me, it’s not yet so I’m still learning. That’s the beauty of the sport if you still want to learn.
“I guess it also depends on the atmosphere and the surroundings and everything. For me, it works and I really like this car and being able to really also set it up how I want. So that’s nice.”
While moving to Alfa Romeo was seen as a step back for Bottas after five years in the ultra-successful Mercedes team, he admits battling in F1’s midfield has been refreshing for him.
“In the past at Mercedes, normally it used to be only one team we battled against, so then it was just focused on those two cars,” he told Motorsport.com. “But now I can have six cars around that we need to be aware of. So that’s nice.
“This season is probably the most enjoyable so far. Okay, maybe you don’t always remember things, but it really feels like I’m enjoying F1 more than ever.
“When it gets to the racing it’s a lot of good fun, especially in the midfield and how different it is strategy-wise in the races. It’s more like one decision can jump you many places. It’s a different game.”
The 32-year-old, who turns 33 on Sunday, is also enjoying the security of knowing he has a multi-year contract at Alfa Romeo and will be staying put for 2023.
“This is actually the first time for me because even with Williams, it was always one year,” he said.
“It’s the first time I haven’t had to stress and answer the questions because now, for the drivers who don’t know, for sure it won’t be nice.”