Valtteri Bottas insists he and Mercedes are satisfied at the level of performances he has produced in 2018, even if a victory remains elusive.
The Finn could well have won three of the first four races with a little more aggression in Bahrain and better luck in China and Baku, as it stands the 28-year-old has four second places to his name and sits in fifth place, 65 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel.
At the start of the season, there was speculation that Bottas’ seat was the most likely under threat from Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian’s Red Bull contract expiring after this season, however, despite the results, the Brackley-based team is set to keep him for one more year at least.
“Even though I’ve not scored the points I would have wanted, I have always performed at the level the team requires me to do,” Bottas said.
“I’m more or less on the level I want personally. That’s a good thing. I’ve felt I have been able to improve my weaknesses and strengths.
“It’s been quite close [to teammate Lewis Hamilton],” he added. “There have been less bigger gaps between me and Lewis.”
How Valtteri has coped with his absence of luck has been one thing most have praised, with him claiming only Mercedes can truly know how good his season has been.
“Having a few wins never does anything bad for you for the future,” he stated. “But at least the team knows exactly how I’m performing and the direction I’m going with my improvement.
“Only the team sees in great detail how I perform every week.”
