Bottas determined to resist 'first win' pressure

Racing for Mercedes this year is almost the promise of a maiden F1 win for Valtteri Bottas, but reaching that milestone implies pressure which the Finn is keen to resist.

After four seasons with Williams and 77 race starts - Bottas' lucky number by the way, expectations are high for Mercedes' new driver to crack the winning nut.

But the 27-year-old won't obsess over the prospect, choosing to keep his head down and consider each race on its own.

"I'm definitely very hungry for the win," Bottas told Sky Sports.

"But I try not to make it a thing, and take any extra pressure out of it. I know from junior formulae that I can do it, I've won a lot of races there.

"But this is Formula 1 and everything is next level, it's extremely difficult. We need to go day by day, race by race.

"Obviously, that is going to be the goal, winning this year. But it's early days, we're only testing. We need to keep our feet on the ground, work hard and we'll find out soon if it's possible."

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While he won't be haunted by expectancy of clinching that first win, Valtteri Bottas is determined to hit the ground running in Melbourne and perform at his best level at the outset.

"I do want to perform from the very first race because every race is important. We need to score good points immediately.

"I want to meet the expectations of the team quickly, that's my target and that's why I've working really hard since mid-January.

"It's been a valuable few days in the car," added the man who topped the time sheets in Barcelona this week.

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