Bottas: Constant pressure of one-year F1 contracts was too much
Valtteri Bottas has admitted that the constant pressure he faced from only having one-year contracts in Formula 1 had a more negative impact on him that he believed at the time.


The Finn has just signed a multi-season deal to join Alfa Romeo from next year, giving him for the first time some proper long term job security.
And having endured throughout his Mercedes career the permanent need to prove himself each season to keep hold of his seat, he says the different scenario with Alfa Romeo has opened his eyes to what he was missing before.
“It probably had a bigger effect on me than I thought it would, because once everything was done, and I knew what I'm going to do for the next few years, I just felt a bit more like freedom and less pressure in a way,” he said ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
“It felt almost like a weight lifted off the shoulders. That's the feeling, and it's something I've never had before: that I know that actually I can focus on to something with a team, with the people around for a few years ahead, not just focusing for one year.
“Normally it's after like six months that I need to fight for my seat. So just being able to have that kind of trust from a team, that they know that I'm going to do the best I can for a few years, just feels good. And I can just really, really focus on the job and think about what I'm going to do next year.”
While Bottas says he understood the attraction for teams in keeping young drivers on their toes with pressure to perform to keep their seats, he says that after a while the situation can prove to be a negative force.
“Everyone is individual in how they cope with pressure, and which kind of pressure and which kind of length of the pressure,” he said.
“But for me, five years in that similar situation, of never being able to think further than six months, it doesn't work.
“It was definitely easier in the beginning, even though there were always discussions pretty much every year, like who's going to be in the seats, which is a distraction.
“Don't forget it was a pretty similar thing for me with Williams more or less: it was always options in the contract one year. Now it's been basically almost nine years of not being able to think long term and what was long term.”
When asked what he felt about Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s remarks that pressure is what makes diamonds, Bottas said: “I think I said to him: ‘yes for a certain amount of time it's good. It can be good. But for nine years?”
Related video

Norris has discussed racing together with MotoGP legend Rossi
Tsunoda had ‘good chat’ with Red Bull about Mexico Q3 incident

Latest news
“Proper send-off” for MacNeil after Rolex 24 win in GTD Pro
Jules Gounon says that winning at Daytona was an appropriate way for co-driver Cooper MacNeil to retire from racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
HPD boss "amazed" by GTP reliability in Rolex 24 at Daytona
The boss of Honda Performance Developments has expressed his amazement at the high levels of reliability demonstrated by the all-new GTP prototypes in last weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.
How MSR took Acura to the first win of sportscar racing's new era
After much anticipation, the new dawn for sportscar racing got underway with a result that mirrored the pattern of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's previous DPi era. Here's how Acura once again took top honours in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with a 1-2 led by Meyer Shank Racing.
Why WTR Acura lacked pace to beat MSR in Rolex 24 showdown
Wayne Taylor Racing's Filipe Albuquerque admits that he knew it would be a tall order to beat the sister Acura of Meyer Shank Racing in the closing stages of last weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Nico Hulkenberg: Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? Luke Smith asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.