Valtteri Bottas feels he is close to matching Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton on raw pace despite finishing behind him in the opening two races of the 2017 season.
At the start of the last race in China he made a strong start but during the early safety car period, the Finn made an uncharacteristic mistake and spun in an effort to keep his tyres warm. Bottas eventually fought his way through the field to finish sixth, just behind the two Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen.
Speaking to Crash.net, Bottas said: “He’s definitively the quickest team-mate I’ve had so far, but that was pretty much expected.
“He’s a three times world champion and many, many times a race winner, so I was always expecting that. But what I’m seeing is that it’s definitively possible for me to match him.”
Should Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel continue to take the top honours, Bottas could be urged to help Hamilton and the team in a title push, however, the team is unlikely to suggest such actions this early in the season.
The Finn is eager to prove his worth and get amongst the potential battle between Vettel and his team-mate.
“I know that I am very close now, I will improve and we’re going to have some very good fights together in the future,” Bottas added.
“I’m sure of that but that’s not something I’m focusing on, at the moment it’s about getting good points for the team and going step by step. Like I said, I feel better and better in the car and the results and the good qualifying will come.”
