Bottas: "I lost the love for the sport last year"

Valtteri Bottas expected at the beginning of the season that he may lose his seat at Mercedes, but the Finn found some great performances, to see him end up second in the drivers' standings.

This came after a tough season in 2018, which he failed to win a single race and there was talk that Esteban Ocon may have been ready to replace the 30-year-old.

“If I had had another season like 2018, the team would probably have dropped me. That is how the F1 works," Bottas told Autosport.

“This was so important to me and my well-being in general. I had more fun between races and fell in love with the sport again. I had lost my love a bit at the end of last year."

He managed to fight off the rest of the competition from the likes of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen to produce a much more positive year than the year before.