Coulthard urges Bottas to 'believe in himself'

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Malaysian Grand Prix

Former F1 driver David Coulthard believes Valtteri Bottas needs to pull out all the stops and 'work hard' to challenge team mate Lewis Hamilton.

After a few rounds of observation and getting acquainted with his new environment earlier this year at Mercedes, Bottas came on strong and won in Russia and then again in Austria.

Unfortunately, the end of the summer was marked by a dip in performance as the Finn struggled to extract the most of his Mercedes, while Hamilton collected four wins in five races.

Bottas gets his W08 'in the narrow window' once again

"I experienced the same sort of difficult times when I was at McLaren with Mika (Hakkinen)," Coulthard Finland's Ilta Sanomat newspaper.

"Valtteri just needs to work hard, find out where the gap to Lewis is and believe that he will be able to close it," the Scot added.

"Valtteri is a quick and talented driver," Coulthard continued.

"As a person he is quiet and reserved, but he needs to think about his races and everything that brought him to this point and believe in himself.

"At the same time we also have to realise that he has one of the fastest ever drivers as his teammate."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.