Bottas confident he can withstand pressure in 2017

New Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas knows that he will be under the spotlight like never before in 2017, as he takes over from reigning champion Nico Rosberg putting alongside formidable team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas said that coping with the pressure will be crucial to achieving success in the upcoming campaign.

“It would be very easy to take a lot of pressure and stress yourself, he told Finnish broadcaster MTV. "But in Formula One I have noticed that if pressure piles up, it only does you harm."

Bottas will have to prove himself to keep seat - Wolff

He added that the pressure wouldn't come from media and fans, but rather from his own expectations of what he should be able to achieve now that he finally has a potential title-winning car under him.

“My goals are always so high – I set the bar really high – so I believe that if the pressure comes, it is mostly from me rather than the outside," he said.

"I want to win races and championships and in that sense the objective is not changing. I have huge support from the team and that will certainly help me in every situation."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.