Bottas keen to beat 'quicker' Raikkonen

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Valtteri Bottas says beating Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' championship would be a big achievement for Williams as the Ferrari is quicker this year.

Ferrari has made a big step forward compared to 2014 and managed three victories courtesy of Sebastian Vettel, with the four-time world champion securing third in the standings behind the two Mercedes drivers. Raikkonen has been less consistent than his team-mate, however, and currently sits one point behind fourth-placed Bottas.

With the two Finns so closely matched heading in to the final race in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Bottas says it would be a big deal for a Williams to beat one of the Ferraris.

"I think that, for Williams as a team, the main thing would be to finish ahead of a quicker car in the championship," Bottas said. "It would be nice. Like I’ve said in to many similar questions, for me it doesn’t change at all if it’s Kimi or someone else I’m fighting with for that position.

"As a driver I just want to get every possible position. With what we have, with the car we have and with what we’re doing as a team, I want to get the maximum out of it and the highest possible position in the championship."

However, Bottas says beating Raikkonen on track is likely to be a tall order with Ferrari having pulled clear in terms of race pace as Williams focuses on its 2016 car.

"I want to have a good race here. It would be nice to finish the race high up, hopefully even on the podium. I think this track shouldn’t be too bad for us, but Ferrari has been very quick on Sundays, lately. We need to see if we have enough pace to challenge them."

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