Bottas: I’ll race very hard against Hamilton

Valtteri Bottas has said he is "selfish" enough to win the title but believes he can have a healthy working relationship with Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has already had to reject claims that there is an issue with his new team-mate after his comments about the sharing of driver data were slightly misinterpreted.

And while the debate continues as to whether Bottas has what it takes to challenge for a World Championship, he believes he can play the duel role of being a team player and a title contender.

"It is definitely tricky to be a team player and at the same time always trying to put yourself in front," Bottas said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.

"It is a kind of a new situation for me. I think the best [thing] for me is to carry on as I have always done, so I do everything for the team.

"But, at the same time, I have my own goals and in F1 you do need to be selfish if you want to win. And I think I have it.

"It is just depending on the situation and calculating what is the best overall. I cannot say more than that really. We will see during the year how it goes.

"I normally get on with everyone and I believe we definitely can with Lewis race very hard but fair and respect each other. At least that is how it is possible."