Valtteri Bottas has once again ruled out playing Nico Rosberg-style mind games with Lewis Hamilton.
The German’s ability to destabilise the Briton was seen as one of the reasons why he was able to win the Formula 1 championship in 2016, along with fewer reliability problems.
Therefore, with Bottas struggling to come close to beating Hamilton during his first four years at Mercedes, the Finn has often been advised to ditch his friendly approach and look at what Rosberg did.
“I think that the strength we have in the team is definitely that we can work as a team,” Bottas said of his relationship with Lewis via Motorsport.com.
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“We can for sure race hard, but we can also leave it there because we know that if we can work together, that’s how the team is going to benefit in the end.
“So there’s not going to be any hiding of setups or data or anything and the team spirit in team sports is underestimated.
“I think it’s really important that you keep the motivation up, and [have] no conflicts.”
Bottas also believes that, while Rosberg’s approach appeared to work in his favour, there was no guarantee trying to destabilise Hamilton would benefit him.
“Of course, along the way, there’s been many people suggest I change to be a Nico Rosberg, but I’m not a Nico Rosberg. I much prefer to do the talking on track and race fair,” he continued.
“I have also been able to get to know Lewis, and I know that there’s no benefit of trying to play with his mind.
“I’m sure it would be annoying for him, but it would be wasting my energy and I think he will be getting even more pissed off and drive faster.
“So I think the way I’m doing things, that’s how I want to win. That is my aim.”
And as for those who disparage and question Bottas, his so-called “couch commentators”, he has a message…
“They really motivate me quite a lot,” he claimed.
“I’ve learned a lot from myself not to try and let those kind of things affect me. I try to avoid that negativity.
“But no matter what you do, there’s always going to be negativity: sometimes less, sometimes more and it is the same with the criticism. But it’s a motivation to prove people wrong. No doubt.
“And I think I’ve said it before: sometimes I just don’t get why there is that kind of criticism. I guess there’s always a reason, but I don’t know that reason and again, I’m not in their position. So I’ve no idea what goes in their head…”