Valtteri Bottas is hoping 2018 will see more performances reminiscent of the composed, near-flawless drive he put in to beat teammate Lewis Hamilton to victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Like his first two wins in Russia and Austria, the Finn withstood the pressure applied from behind as he just kept the world champion in the sister Mercedes at arm’s length to do what he didn’t do in Brazil and convert pole into the race win.
Though it appeared Hamilton arguably had the faster car, judging by the number of times he was able to close within DRS range of Bottas, the 28-year-old suggested everything was under control at the front.
“I was managing the pace and the race and that was a nice feeling,” he said. “I had a lockup when approaching one of the lapped cars but otherwise no issues, then the last five laps I managed to go quicker and build the gap.”
The result also went a long way to answering critics that had begun to question if the former Williams driver was capable of performing at a team like Mercedes after struggling to maintain the form he had earlier in the season.
“It is really an important win for me after having a pretty difficult start to the second half of the year,” Bottas acknowledged. “[We’ve been] working hard on all the issues and getting better and better with everything, this weekend, I couldn’t be happier to end the season like this.
“What I’m really, really pleased with is to be part of the team winning the Constructors’. The team has given me the opportunity to win races and I’ve been on pole position a few times. I know the results will come in the future at some stage.”
Considering what he needs to do to ensure a stronger title challenge follows in 2018, he replied: “I need to go for it, I think this weekend showed I can be on the ball, I can win races. I’ll try and do it more next year.”
