That’s what the Finn has admitted about his Mercedes team-mate after seeing the Brit secure his fourth F1 title this year.

Bottas and Hamilton joined forces at Mercedes in January after the former McLaren man was brought in to replace Nico Rosberg.

And he looked set to rival his team-mate in the title race after winning the Russian Grand Prix in April.

Bottas’ challenge faded as the season went on though and he secured just three race victories to Hamiton’s nine.

Hamilton’s victories were aided by having a superior qualifying record to Bottas.

And Bottas says he needs to improve in F1’s Saturday sessions in order to have a chance of beating the 2017 champion.

"His strength was the qualifying," Bottas told GPUpdate.net.

"He did some really good qualifying performances and most of the time started the race from pole position and [the race is] always different [from pole].

"I think for me I need to focus on my qualifying, and also some of the races that I struggled with the race pace.

"The last few races of the season I could really learn a lot and improve a lot, so I need more consistency with my results and then it's possible to fight with him."

Bottas will be looking to make his mark on the 2018 F1 campaign when it kicks off in Australia next March.