Bottas explains why he was self-critical in Melbourne

Valtteri Bottas has explained why he was dissatisfied with his Mercedes debut in Australia, saying that it was because he always expects to achieve the high targets that he sets himself.

The Finn came home third in the race, one place behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton, and although he described this as a "decent start", he felt disappointment at not being able to win immediately. The self-criticism works as encouragement for Bottas, however, as it pushes him to get a better result at the next race.

"I always set very high targets for myself and that works for me - it makes me work harder and I didn't feel any negatives from my self-criticism," he said. "It's only good for me to think about my weaknesses and strengths, so I'm not worried about that."

"I think that in general the weekend didn't always go the ideal way, but I think it was a decent start with the team and a completely new page in my career. I know there's so much more to come and I just need to keep on doing what I'm doing and everything will be OK. I trust my skills, so I don't see it as a worry."

Mason Hawker