Bottas will help Hamilton's F1 title bid “in a reasonable way”

Just 12 points separate Max Verstappen and Hamilton at the top of the F1 drivers’ championship with five rounds remaining.

Based on the season so far, F1 is set for its first title finale since 2016 with Verstappen and Hamilton being closely matched throughout the campaign.

Bottas sits third in the standings, 102.5s off the lead meaning he is still has a mathematical chance, but realistically is out of contention.

Even though Bottas is on his way to Alfa Romeo for 2022, he is prepared to help Hamilton and Mercedes to secure both drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

“Obviously, mentally it helps that I know what is happening in the future, long term and I can just focus on the driving, but at the same time trying to enjoy the moment, because when you enjoy you tend to drive better,” Bottas said ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix.

“How do I approach it? For me the approach doesn’t really change, realistically I’m not in the championship battle anymore and I’m a team player. For me, it would be important if we could get the fifth consecutive constructors’ championship together, that would be quite a big achievement.

“I want to get as many points as I can and if there’s a way to help Lewis in a reasonable way, in his fight, as his teammate I’ll do it. I think that’s the mindset and approach, not so different from what it was some races ago.”

With five rounds to go, Bottas sits 35 points clear of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in the race for third in the F1 drivers’ championship.

The Finn says he doesn’t really see Perez as his main rival because he’s just focused on scoring the most amount of points possible.

“I don’t really think about it that way, I just try to look ahead and score maximum points for the team and for myself. I don’t really think about it that way.”

Bottas’ best result in F1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez came in 2017 when he finished second behind Max Verstappen.