Bottas “bored” by Rosberg comparisons, has plan to beat Hamilton

Valtteri Bottas says he is getting “bored” of suggestions to follow Nico Rosberg’s approach in a bid to beat Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The Finn is yet to beat Hamilton over the course of a season during their three years together as teammates at Mercedes, with Hamilton once again coming out on top to clinch the 2019 world title with two races to spare last time out at the United States Grand Prix.

But Bottas insists he has no plans to try and copy tactics used by Rosberg that helped the German pip Hamilton to the 2016 crown and would rather stick to his own philosophy.

Asked if he has any plans to change his approach, Bottas replied: “If I’m being very honest I’m already bored of that question. Every driver is different and I’m not Nico.

“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. That requires beating my teammate 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,” he added.

“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.

“I have a plan for next year but I’m not willing to share it, so we’ll find out.”

Despite missing out on the title, Bottas recovered from a winless 2018 campaign to secure his most successful season in F1 to date, picking up four wins and five poles en route to sealing runner-up spot in the championship.

“It’s been my best season so far in F1 but still not the season I’m aiming for,” he explained.

“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.”