Valtteri Bottas says a “few mistakes” proved crucial in the 2019 Formula 1 title battle, but insists he has made “huge gains” in terms of his race displays.
Bottas missed out on the crown to Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton but has secured the runner-up spot in the championship, and has scored a career-best four wins.
It is in stark contrast to a 2018 campaign in which he failed to take a single win and slumped to fifth in the standings, with just three podium finishes after the break.
“Overall I think there were a few mistakes, for sure, from my side I should have been able to avoid,” said Bottas, reflecting on 2019.
“There were a couple on race starts, at least some of them were mistakes, some were maybe unlucky moments but they made me learn.
“Then a couple of qualifying [sessions] I messed up in Q3, definitely, which cost me starting position for the race and compromised the race and I lost points because of that.
“And then, otherwise, I don’t know, luck, whatever, has been pretty even for me and Lewis overall, so he’s just been on a great level again this year, every single race.
“I’ve not been able to be at my very, very best every single race, but much more often than ever before, so the direction is clear for me in terms of my development, overall.
“It’s a good momentum now and in terms of race pace, which has been my weakness in the years before, I’ve made huge gains by working really hard with the engineers, you know, every single detail of my driving and set-up.”
Bottas will remain with Mercedes into 2020 and says his recent results provide him with a boost, in stark contrast to his demeanour towards the end of 2018.
“It [the improvements] gives me really confidence for next year and, unlike at the end of last year, now I really look forward to the year ahead,” he said.
“I’m already excited to start the next season and start from fresh. So that’s going to be good fun.”
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