Bottas 'definitely not happy' with gap to Hamilton at Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas says he "definitely not happy" with the current gap to Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton, wanting more than the two wins and two pole positions he has achieved this year.

Bottas is currently third in the standings, 72 points behind Hamilton but only 13 behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Although the Finn had a strong start to the season, he has lagged behind his teammate in several races since the summer break - including in qualifying - and was at points unable to explain his lack of performance.

Asked if he was happy with his performance, having already outscored his total from last year by 149 points, he said: "No, I want more! I’m definitely not happy with only two wins so far and with the gap in points between us. 

"Now [Hamilton] is surely looking strong in the title fight, that’s a fact and, for sure, at this point I would still like to be in that fight. After the August break things became more tricky and now it looks like I will be fighting for second place in the championship. 

"I think that’s a more realistic goal at this point, unfortunately, but for sure I set my targets high for the season."

Bottas has been re-signed by Mercedes for the next season after team bosses praised his performance this year, locking him in with the German marque until the end of 2018. Despite his recent struggle,s the Finn said he still hopes to match Hamilton next season.

"Of course I believe in myself and I believe that learning from all the defeats, learning from all the races I’ve been off the pace compared with him," Bottas said.

"By working hard and taking every point I can take to improve, I believe it is possible.

"I believe in my ability, in myself and the future is still ahead for me."