Valtteri Bottas issues challenge to Lewis Hamilton ahead of new Formula 1 season

With the start of the F1 2021 season only a few weeks away, Valtteri Bottas has issued a challenge to seven-time Driver's Champion Lewis Hamilton. Having worked on keeping a "happy head" during the winter break, Bottas believes that he can challenge Hamilton for the title this season. Bottas and Hamilton have been teammates at Mercedes for the past four seasons with Hamilton having won the championship each time.

Valtteri Bottas issues challenge to Lewis Hamilton ahead of F1 2021 season

With Valtteri Bottas only managing to win two races as compared to Lewis Hamilton's 11 races in the F1 2020 season, the pressure is on Bottas heading into this new season. In an interview, the Finnish driver did state that he had been taking too much pressure at times in the previous seasons. However, he added that he has worked on his mental health during the winter break to find himself in a better position and is now ready to pose a challenge to Lewis Hamilton.

"Some of my years in Formula 1, definitely I put too much pressure on myself; there’s been times where I’ve taken too much pressure from the outside and there’s been also vice versa, that there has not been maybe enough pressure from my side. It’s all about finding that balance and playing with that," explained Bottas. When Bottas was asked about what he has done, Bottas responded by highlighting that it was his private matter. "It’s my private matter and I also don’t want to share all the techniques, etcetera. But as I said before it’s something I have had more focus on over the winter and will focus on more over the season," added Bottas.

Moreover, Bottas was not afraid to challenge Lewis Hamilton ahead of the F1 2021 season. Bottas said, "Absolutely I believe I can fight for the title and that’s of course my goal for the season. That’s my target, but it’s a long way until that and we need to take it really step by step.”

F1 2021 schedule

With the F1 2021 season set to begin in three weeks, Valtteri Bottas will have to be on top of his game from the get-go if he is to challenge Lewis Hamilton for the Driver's Championship. As per the F1 2021 schedule, the first race is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28th. The action then moves to Italy and Spain.

Hamilton records

Having broken Michael Schumacher's (91) record for the most number of wins in F1, Lewis Hamilton (95) will now have his eyes set on beating Schumacher for the most number of Driver's Championships. With Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes having dominated F1 for the past seven seasons, one cannot doubt Hamilton from achieving this milestone. Along with Hamilton, Mercedes will also look to extend their record by winning the Constructor's Championship for an eighth consecutive season.

Image courtesy: Mercedes/Instagram