Bottas to treat every GP like his 'last race' in 2019

Valtteri Bottas knows he is under pressure to have his contract with Mercedes extended beyond 2019 after an abject 2018 campaign, and in order to secure better results in his Mercedes he is going to treat every Grand Prix like his "last race".

The Finn, whether it be through poor performances, bad luck, or team orders, has failed to win a race this season and was actually described as the perfect "wingman" for Lewis Hamilton by his team boss, Toto Wolff. - a statement which he objected to.

He recognises an improvement is required next year, and he is going to go all-out in every race to get it.

"This sport is funny, you never know what happens in the future," said Bottas.

"But I think the right mentality for me to approach next year is like I have nothing to lose. I just want to go for it and drive like I stole it, like it's my last race, last day ever. So, yeah, I think that's it. That's a good plan."

The Mercedes driver is content with his qualifying pace, which he claims has improved since last season, but confesses it needs to be translated into race results.

"I think the fact is, as a team, what we've analysed and what we spoke with the guys, qualifying pace and race pace, compared to my teammate, has been better this year on average, which is positive, but the results haven't," he continued.

A tough evening under the lights for @ValtteriBottas, he has to settle for P5 at @ymcofficial #AbuDhabiGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/r16IThCwNG — Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 25, 2018

"So all those things, we need to analyse why the results weren't there. Obviously sometimes it was unlucky, sometimes were different reasons. But... yeah, I think performance-wise this year was better, but results-wise last year was better."

Bottas is ultimately adamant that he can perform much better, and never doubted his ability to compete at the top of the grid.

"In this sport, when you're kind of sometimes thinking of yourself, you're thinking all kind of different things," he added.

"The main thing is always the thought that I've got to be the strongest, and I've never told myself that I'm not good enough to do this.

"So... and I still believe so, even though I feel disappointed for the season, I know that I can do much more than what this season proves, and that is the main thing."

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