Ralf Schumacher: Bottas must be careful with new attitude

Former Williams and Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher insists that Valtteri Bottas needs to be careful despite getting his 2019 season underway with a win in Melbourne after hitting back at his critics.

After taking the first race win of the 2019 season by over 20 seconds from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, Bottas took to the airwaves to address his detractors on the cool-down lap over team radio. His message: "To whom it may concern: F*** you!"

While Schumacher believes Bottas can take this form on to Bahrain, he warned the Finn that he needed to remain focused despite the strong start to his year.

"Bottas definitely needs the momentum - no question about last year - and he's a driver anyway, who can be as quick as an arrow, but not so consistent - and not so constantly under pressure," He explained on the F1 podcast Starting Grid powered by Formel1.de.

"He did not really have that kind of pressure that race because he could lead. You can not interpret too much into it, because Lewis had a problem with the underbody.

"I think it's very early to do this," he added, referring to his radio outburst. "But maybe that was just a liberation, so maybe he'll have to treat him, and I want him to keep it that way, because otherwise he'll get it the answer back relatively quickly."