Bottas 'playing games with his head' to cope with F1 misery

Valtteri Bottas has revealed a need to "play games" inside his head to cope with the worst season of his F1 career.

In his 13th campaign, Bottas finds himself rooted to the foot of the drivers' championship without a point to his name, alongside Stake team-mate Zhou Guanyu, the axed Logan Sargeant and his replacement at Williams, Franco Colapinto.

Zhou, Sargeant and Colapinto are all above veteran Bottas by virtue of a higher placing in a grand prix than the Finn's best result this year - 13th in both Monaco and Canada. Rookie Colapinto managed 12th on his debut in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

For Bottas, his outing at Monza was one to forget as he finished 17th after starting 19th, one place ahead of Zhou. It was the first time this season the 35-year-old had started on the back row of the grid.

In what is turning into a miserable campaign for Bottas as he also continues to fight for a place in F1 next season, speaking to media, and asked by RacingNews365 how he keeps himself motivated, he replied: "I just need to set myself targets, I need to set myself goals and try and achieve those.

"In the end, it's all relative. Obviously, it's always more motivating if you're fighting for better positions, that's why I need to play games with my head and create some personal targets and try and go for those.

"Obviously a big motivation is still the future. I'm sure the teams know I'm still giving it all my all."

More coffees to come with Binotto

Bottas' only hope of remaining in F1 for next season is to be retained by Stake. He has made it clear he would like a multi-year deal to ensure he is then part of the Audi era that begins in 2026.

With Mattia Binotto at Monza over the weekend, Bottas was at least able to catch up with the former Ferrari team principal in his new role as chief operating officer and chief technical officer of Sauber Motorsport.

As a renowned coffee lover, Bottas sat down with Binotto over a cup, although with more to follow, he confirmed, as he attempts to hold onto a seat.

"The coffee was good," said Bottas. "And there are still more to be had.

"But the coffee talks weren't about a contract. We agreed it was not the right time to speak about it.

"There's a weekend off so we've got more time, and I don't want to say more than that, but I'm always optimistic."