Valtteri Bottas’ first season with the Alfa Romeo F1 Team has been his “most enjoyable so far” in the championship, after being relieved of the pressure of racing for the Mercedes F1 Team.
The Finnish driver has performed well for the Swiss outfit, and currently finds himself ninth in the Drivers’ Championship.
Alfa Romeo do, of course, have a very different set-up and set of goals, compared to Mercedes.
Bottas was somewhat submerged by Sir Lewis Hamilton’s shadow at Mercedes, something that visibly frustrated the Finn.
READ: Toto Wolff reveals if he has ‘called’ Sergio Perez amid claim he’s forcing Lewis Hamilton out
At Alfa Romeo he isn’t only out of the shadows, but he’s the side’s team leader, with team-mate Guanyu Zhou still very much learning the ropes of the series.
In April, Bottas explained to The Race how he was “happier” not being alongside the “dominant” Hamilton, despite the pair being good friends away from the circuit.
“I just feel a bit happier in life overall,” Bottas told The Race.
“I really feel a big part of the team. And it’s been really nice to have proper authority on things. If I ask for something, it happens – and everyone really listens.
“I’m not just a driver, but also an important team member. It was always quite difficult in the past to really step up. And I think Lewis also in a team is quite a dominant person in a way. It was pretty clear that I couldn’t have the same role there as what I have here.”
Bottas has since commented even more on life post-Mercedes, where he was the majority of the time only fighting either Red Bull Racing or Ferrari
Alfa Romeo are in the heart of the midfield battle, something Bottas has loved due to having to be aware of “six cars” rather than just “two”.
He was involved in an epic five car fight at the Austrian Grand Prix recently in the season, something which would never happen amongst the frontrunners.
Bottas explained that racing in the midfield is a “different game” to racing at the front, with “one decision” being the difference between finishing eighth, or P18.
READ: IndyCar driver criticises Formula 1 racers over safety ‘cop-out’
“This season is probably the most enjoyable so far,” Bottas told Motorsport.com. “OK, maybe you don’t always remember things, but it really feels like I’m enjoying F1 more than ever.
“When it gets to the racing, it’s a lot of good fun, especially like in the midfield and how different it is strategy-wise in the races. It’s more like one decision can jump you many places. It’s a different game.
“In the past at Mercedes, normally it used to be only one team that we battled against, so then it’s just focused on those two cars. But now I can have six cars around that we need to be aware of. So that’s nice.”