Mercedes tenure ate away at Valtteri Bottas' confidence, claims former champion Mika Hakkinen

Valtteri Bottas' Mercedes tenure has eroded the Finnish driver's confidence, according to F1 legend Mika Hakkinen. Hakkinen is a two-time F1 world champion, winning consecutive titles in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren.

The 53-year-old discussed his compatriot Bottas' time at Mercedes during an interview with Finnish publication Suomi F1. Here's what he had to say about the Alfa Romeo-bound driver:

“Valtteri (Bottas) is a great team player and driver. He’s going to drive at a nice team. However, the resources of the teams are not comparable. Now, however, he can prepare for the long term. At Mercedes, with only a year-long contract, while light was always visible at the end of the tunnel, there was always a locked door waiting.”

Hakkinen then went on to elaborate on how that uncertainty was a hindrance for Bottas as he attempted to battle Lewis Hamilton for the world title. The former McLaren driver said:

“That uncertainty eats away at self-confidence. He did not get the credit he wanted from Mercedes. If the mat is constantly pulled from under your feet, then it will eat your self-confidence. Now Valtteri has the opportunity to drive for a team for the long term where he will be trusted.”

Bottas left the team after five seasons with them and will feature for Alfa Romeo when the new F1 campaign gets underway in 2022. He arrived to replace the retiring Kimi Raikkonen.

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Not winning drivers' championship with Mercedes 'bothers' Valtteri Bottas

Despite being one of the most successful drivers to feature for Mercedes in F1, Valtteri Bottas was unable to become a drivers' world champion with the team. That is something that bothers the 32-year-old Finn.

Bottas reflected on his time with the team from 2017 to 2021, where he formed a formidable partnership with Lewis Hamilton. Together, the pair helped Toto Wolff's team achieve five constructors' titles in succession.

During his interview with gpfans.com, Bottas said:

“For sure it bothers me that I haven’t won the title, but it bothers me less because I know that there’s not much more that I could have done. That’s just the way it is, so definitely, every season (I) always try to find more about myself, always try to be better. Obviously, some seasons were a bit unlucky, some seasons I was not on the level I was supposed to be, but overall, I gave it my all.”

Bottas was replaced by young British driver George Russell for the upcoming F1 season in 2022. The 23-year-old arrived from Williams after signing a bumper $6.76 million contract.