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Valtteri Bottas says he believes he can take the challenge to Lewis Hamilton despite losing his championship lead.
The 2020 season started perfectly for Bottas as he dominantly won the Austrian Grand Prix, while his mail title-rival Lewis Hamilton finished only fourth (after receiving a five second penalty).
However Hamilton won the next two races and now sits five points ahead of the Finn in the championship standings. Despite this, Bottas believes he is still in contention for the 2020 title.
“I believe in my ability to fight him, that’s the big challenge for me,” said the Finn.
“I think my performance has been good. I think there might have been some unfortunate events. It cost me a little.
“But I’m satisfied with the performance. It is a very encouraging start.”
With third placed Max Verstappen being 30 points behind Hamilton, it seems that that the 2020 championship could be decided between the two Mercedes drivers. While Bottas agrees it currently looks that way, he thinks it’s too early to dismiss other competitors.
“We only did three races and most likely we will actually have some of them this year. At this point in time? Yes.
“Based on two different routes, we seem to be the best car. Sometimes with a big lead. That’s a fact.
“But you just never know how the season will go, so we will keep pushing. You just never know, it’s Formula 1, everything can change.
“For me it’s all about improving my performance and beating my team-mate just like beating everyone else on the track,” concluded the Finn.
Source: motorsport-total.com
