Bottas trusts secret plan to beat Hamilton in 2020 F1

Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas has a plan to beat Formula One champion and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton next season, but will not share it.

Bottas is assured of second place in the championship, his best finish yet, but recognizes he needs more consistency even after winning four races this year.

Bottas also says he needs to make fewer mistakes than Hamilton to win his first F1 title.

"I have a plan for next year, but I am not willing to share it, so we will find out," Bottas said Thursday at the Brazilian Grand Prix. "For sure I have plans to find the different ways of how I want to achieve my goal, which is ultimately the championship. That means beating my teammate, but also many other drivers."

"If I perform at the level I want, that will normally upset the other side of the garage a little bit," the 30-year-old driver added.

Bottas says he is confident for the 2020 season because of the work he has recently done with his team.

"I am really starting to see the work with the engineers and myself driving wise," Bottas said. "I always preferred to do the talking on the track and, if I am able to keep up my performance and put all the energy I have into my performance, that is the best for me."

Bottas won the previous race, in the United States this month, but Hamilton clinched his sixth world title there with two races to spare by placing second.

The usually calm Bottas sounded upset when compared to former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who won the 2016 F1 title with Hamilton as his main challenger.

"I am slightly already bored about that question because every driver is individual. I am me, I am not Nico," Bottas said.

Christian Horner impressed by how Gasly 'embraced' Toro Rosso return

Red Bull Formula 1 chief Christian Horner has praised Pierre Gasly’s attitude following his return to Toro Rosso midway through the 2019 season, believing the Frenchman has rediscovered his confidence.

Gasly scored the first F1 podium of his career at the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday, claiming a surprise second-place finish for Toro Rosso.

The result came following a difficult period that had seen Gasly lose his Red Bull seat following the Hungarian Grand Prix, returning to Toro Rosso with Alexander Albon moving in the opposite direction.

Gasly has scored points in five of his eight appearances for Toro Rosso, with Horner believing he has benefitted from the reduced level of pressure at Red Bull’s sister team.

“I think he’s doing a very good

job,” Horner said. “I think removing him from the pressured environment here and putting him back into the slightly-less

pressured environment at Toro Rosso, perhaps in a car that is slightly easier to drive - his confidence has been recovering and

recovering. He’s put in some great performances and that’s why we took up the option on him again for 2020. It’s great to

see him get his first podium, so it’s a fantastic day for Red Bull. Hopefully that confidence will only continue to grow.”