Formula 1

Valtteri Bottas targets beating Lewis Hamilton to the 2017 title

Published Feb. 13, 2017 11:39 a.m. ET

GMM Newswire

Valtteri Bottas is targeting the World Championship for 2017.

With the Finn making the switch from Williams, Lewis Hamilton's father warned just days ago that the triple world champion is nothing short of a "career killer."

But Bottas told the Finnish broadcaster MTV that he intends to beat Hamilton.

"My goal is the championship and I really have the opportunity to get it," he said.

And that means taking Hamilton on, head-to-head.

"The immediate objective is to fight against him," Bottas said.

To that end, the 27-year-old recently called the man he is replacing, World Champion Nico Rosberg, with whom Hamilton shared an acrimonious relationship.

"It was good to talk to him," Bottas said.

"Nico has been in the team for a long time and knows very well how things work from the driver's point of view.

"The most important thing is to know how the team works and how to collaborate with them to get the most out of the car," he added.

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