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Valtteri Bottas says he hasn’t really thought about what it would do for his career if George Russell beats him in his first race for Mercedes.
At the Sakhir Grand Prix George Russell will have his first opportunity to race for Mercedes, after Lewis Hamilton got diagnosed with COVID-19. Under these circumstances nobody expects Russell to immediately perform at the top of his game.
However if he was to beat the more experienced Bottas, it wouldn’t reflect well on the Finn. At the Sakhir Grand Prix Thursday press conference Bottas was asked what this would mean for his career.
“I haven’t really thought about it and it’s difficult to know what to expect from George in terms of performance,” said the Finn.
“He knows the team well, but also it’s a different car that he has been testing and lots of new things. And also… I don’t really know what to say to that question.
“I haven’t thought [about] it in that sense and if I have to give some kind of answer I say if he beats me, yeah for sure it wouldn’t look so good on me if I have a normal race and if he beats me fair and square.
“So obviously I [will] try to avoid that. But I am not a person who thinks on that side of things. I try to turn things into a motivation and through positive thinking. That’s my mindset for this weekend.”
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Although Valtteri already has a contract with Mercedes for 2021, he was asked if the race on Sunday could be sort of a “showdown” between two candidates for a 2022 Mercedes seat.
“I know that you like to speculate things and create drama and ‘showdowns’ etc., but I doubt George thinks that way and at least I don’t.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for George, a great opportunity to learn a lot and to show what we can do with the team.
“And from my side, as a racing driver of course you always want to be ahead of your teammate – whether it’s Lewis Hamilton or George Russell or anyone else, it doesn’t matter.
“And I also have a job to do for the last three races of the season – I have my own motivation, which is trying to win the remaining races.
“That’s obviously for me the only goal – and trying to maximise all the learnings I can for next year and end the season on a positive way that could hopefully help me [at the] start of next year.
“I have a contract for next year, I have clear targets for myself for next year – the team as well – so for me everything is really simple.
“No pressure from my side,” concluded Bottas.
