Valtteri Bottas says he has “a plan” in mind in order to defeat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in 2020, but dismissed the idea of using psychological tactics.
Bottas has secured the runner-up spot in this year’s championship, with four wins, but trails Hamilton by 67 points, who wrapped up the title at the US Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s title is his third in a row and fifth in six years, with his only defeat in the hybrid era coming in 2016, when then team-mate Nico Rosberg edged him to the crown, before retiring days later.
Bottas, who replaced Rosberg at Mercedes, shot down suggestions of resorting to mind games – saying being repeatedly told to use the approach “bored” him – and insisted he is working on the right approach for 2020.
“For sure I’ll always have plans of finding different ways of how I want to achieve my goal, which is to win the championship,” said Bottas on Thursday.
“That requires beating my team-mate and also other drivers.
“I will always prefer to do the talking on track. If I can focus on my performance and keep all the energy that I have into my own performance I think that is going to be the best bet for me.
“If I start wasting energy elsewhere it might take my mind off the driving and what really matters.
“If I can perform at the level I want to then normally that tends to upset the other side of the garage a little bit.
“I know from being on the other side of that as well that it can lead you to mistakes and so on. So I have a plan for next year but I’m not willing to share it, so we’ll find out.”
Bottas’ 2019 campaign has been his best in Formula 1, with the runner-up spot and a quartet of wins exceeding 2017, when he claimed three victories en route to third overall.
Bottas nonetheless stressed that it was “still not the season I’m aiming for.
“I still need a bit more consistency and fewer mistakes but it gives a good feeling and confidence for the future.
“I’m now really starting to see the work that we’ve been doing with the engineers and what I’ve been doing with myself and driving-wise.
“I’ve really been able to target many of the weaknesses that I’ve had and been able to improve my pace in different circumstances quite a lot, so that’s very satisfying to see. It makes you want more.”
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