Bottas felt that the pressure in Meben was like "being held in the throat by a knife"

Walteri Bottas spoke about how he felt under pressure from Mercedes to "get a knife to his throat".

From Bottas' perspective, there could be several reasons, such as the challenge of trying to beat Lewis Hamilton on the same car, the challenge of winning the world championship for the team. Although he played an integral role in winning the constructors' championship every season for the Mercedes team, his contract was always signed once a year, meaning he would never have a stable future at the end of each season for the team.

So, Bottas said in an interview: "When you feel like your throat is being held by a knife, your head is not very comfortable. ”

Hamilton called Bottas the best team-mate he's met in the sport, and the two get along well at work, with the former Williams driver taking over the seat for Nico Rosberg.

Bottas said: "I remember Lewis and Nico arguing fiercely, even a little bit politically. ”

Bottas said he initially thought it was a strange decision for Rosberg to leave the sport after beating Hamilton to win the title in 2016, but now he understands Rosberg's approach.

Speaking of relaxation, Bottas is well known for enjoying the sauna, and when things get a little tricky, he goes to the sauna, where he can recover stronger.

"Sauna is a sacred place for me, not so much to take away the stress as to clear your head and relax for the next race weekend," he said. Of course, this sometimes works, sometimes it doesn't. ”

Bottas has now opened a new chapter with Alfa Romeo, signing his first multi-year contract in his career and securing vital job security in his new team. Since they were unlikely to fight on the front lines in the near future, he felt that some of the pressure had now disappeared from his shoulders.

He said: "I can say that I have laughed a lot since I signed with Alpha. ”