Autosportfoto

Lewis Hamilton & I will be a great pairing – Bottas

Valtteri Bottas is confident he can establish a positive working relationship with new Mercedes AMG Petronas team-mate Lewis Hamilton following the confirmation he will join the title-winning team for the 2017 F1 season.

The Finn has been chosen to replace Nico Rosberg following the new champion's shock decision to retire from the sport just days after winning the 2016 F1 title, Bottas joining Mercedes on a reported one-year deal.

Switching from Williams, where he scored nine podiums during a four-year stint with the British team, Bottas will go toe-to-toe with new team-mate and three-time champion Hamilton, who endured a famously fractious relationship with Rosberg during their time together.

Despite this, Bottas remains positive about what can be achieved from a team perspective and is confident he can work well with the British driver.

"Lewis will be a great reference, he is a three-time world champion and everyone knows exactly how good he is," he said. "It will be a great pairing with Lewis, being his team-mate for me to compare to him, but for us to work together and push the team forward.

"We have raced many years together but I am still getting to know him better but if you think of the driving side and working as a team, I see it can be very good.

"He obviously has more experience than me but I see us as a good pair for the team. I am sure we can work well together and share a lot of things. Hopefully push each other forward, which is good for the team."

With his sights set firmly on winning his first F1 race this year, Bottas adds that he feels he 'hasn't achieved anything in F1' and still has plenty to learn.

"I am in my fifth season so I have some kind of experience but I still feel I haven't achieved anything in F1. I am really hungry for the wins and for us to win the title. For me personally, I am prepared to work really hard. I am still young and fast." 

Zdroj: crash.net