BOTTAS: In my best days, I was invincible

Walteri Bottas believes he is "invincible" at his best, but he admits that his best driving ability is not always demonstrated.

Bottas has won a total of 10 races at Mercedes and helped Lewis Hamilton bring the constructors' championships for the team five times in a row, but he admits it can sometimes backfire if he "pushes too hard" at the weekend. While team leader Toto Wolff said he "robbed" the Finns of their 2018 victory in Russia, there was a high chance bottas would be beaten by Hamilton over the course of their time together.

Bottas won his last victory at Mercedes in Turkey in the 2021 season when he felt no one could beat him.

Bottas said: "Honestly, I feel like I was invincible on my best days, both in regular and qualifying, but unfortunately I don't always have my best days. ”

However, finns do not fully recognize their time at Mercedes. He said he learned his lessons in his efforts to beat Hamilton, but he feels he may sometimes set expectations beyond his own capabilities, admitting that things are not "easy" when trying to beat a seven-time world champion.

He said: "I can't say I exceeded my expectations, I personally have high expectations of myself, maybe a little too high, I can't say I exceeded anything. I have a feeling of losing ground, obviously I didn't win the drivers' championship, but it wasn't easy to play alongside Lewis, he always had the upper hand. ”

He is one of only 35 drivers in F1 history to have won double-digit races, but the former Mercedes driver has already expressed lingering disappointment, but still feels that those with experience can see how fast he is behind the wheel, admitting that beating a driver like Hamilton all the time has been difficult for anyone.