After bagging a good set of points in Singapore, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas is hoping to reel in and overhaul Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings.

With six races remaining, the title fight is now weighted in favour of Lewis Hamilton after Vettel's written off race and Ferrari's double disaster in Marina Bay.

While he still stands a mathematical chance of winning the 2017 title, Bottas admits it would be a tall order. The Finn however reckons a spot as runner-up behind his team mate is definitely in the cards.

"I think that is definitely the next target for me – and, yes, it is possible," said Bottas, who finished third in last Sunday's Singapore GP.

"This was good race for us, for me and Lewis in terms of points. The next couple of races are hopefully good for us.

"But we are not underestimating Ferrari. For sure, they can still have strong weekends. Six races to go, there are still plenty of points to get, so it is a good target for me."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said the German outfit still isn't inclined to impose team orders on its drivers, but Bottas reckons he will get the support he needs to fight and beat Vettel.

"The hunger to win and to finish strong is so big that definitely we want to be 1-2 in the drivers’ championship," he said.

"The priority is to get the constructors, but we want to be 1-2. For the team, it is important to win the drivers’ championship.

"I will just focus on trying to get Sebastian, and I am sure the team is behind me as well.

"I am not thinking too much about the gap to Lewis. It is quite big now but I just need to go race-by-race and close it until the end, if there are still possibilities or not.

"He is having a good run at the moment but I just need to raise my game and then it is quite open."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sainz: 'F1 is trying to sell something we all know isn’t right'

Amid the mounting criticism of Formula 1’s new regulations, Carlos Sainz has accused the sport…

24 mins ago

Colapinto camp stepped in after Ocon clash to prevent death threats

Franco Colapinto’s management opted for an extraordinary defensive maneuver after the Alpine driver’s clash with…

14 hours ago

F1 The Movie wins Oscar for Best Sound

F1 The Movie took a victory lap on Sunday evening at the 98th Academy Awards,…

15 hours ago

Formula 1's first and last unofficial starter

German driver Hans Heyer was born on this day in 1943, and while his main…

17 hours ago

Stella confirms engine-related failures, but won’t blame Mercedes

McLaren endured a bitterly frustrating weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix as both of its…

18 hours ago

Kirkwood beats Palou to claim Arlington IndyCar glory

Kyle Kirkwood delivered a masterpiece on Sunday in the shadows of AT&T Stadium, proving that…

19 hours ago