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Valtteri Bottas won't 'waste energy' on mind games with Lewis Hamilton

MONTMELO, Spain -- Valtteri Bottas insists he will not need to revert to mind games to beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2018.

Bottas won three races in 2017 -- earning himself a contract extension for this coming season in the process -- but was unable to challenge Hamilton for the championship. The Finn's future at Mercedes hinges on how he performs this year, with the likes of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon available for the German manufacturer in 2018.

Nico Rosberg, the man Bottas replaced at Mercedes, managed to beat Hamilton to the title in 2016, something the German put down to changing his mental approach.