Valtteri Bottas says “nothing interesting” has changed between himself and Lewis Hamilton despite their Formula 1 title duel.
Last time out in Monaco saw Mercedes’ streak of one-two finishes end with the Finn finishing third.
That also meant the gap between himself and Lewis entered double figures for the first time this year, as the world champion pulled 17 points clear.
Even so, Bottas insists the status quo remains in the garage as to how the two sides co-exist.
“I’m sorry to be boring but there’s nothing interesting you are going to get out of it because everything is as before,” he was quoted by Crash.net.
“We’ve always had good respect both ways and it’s still the same. The competition this year so far has been closer than before and it hasn’t changed a thing.
“We still keep working with the engineers and share the data, we have no problems with it. When you put the helmet on it’s time to race each other and nothing has changed.
“It’s a fact that I need to beat Lewis and every single driver on the grid to win the title and there’s nothing new on that.”
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This weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix also sees another potential banana skin for Mercedes, with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve often producing unexpected outcomes.
To that point, it is anticipated that Ferrari will enjoy their strongest race since Bahrain thanks to the long straights, and while the Anglo-German outfit does have an engine upgrade, Bottas still expects to be slower.
“For sure the engine upgrade is very welcome, that is thanks to all of the work at Brixworth,” he told Motorsport Week.
“Obviously it’s something we need to see physically how it actually behaves on-track and everything. We also need to make sure that it’s reliable.
“We’re expecting already from a fresh engine a tiny bit of power gain, but we’re also expecting a small step forward in performance.
“We don’t think it’s quite yet enough to match Ferrari’s straight-line speed, they will have the upper hand on that, but we have our strengths in other areas. I look forward to feeling it on Friday.”
