Valtteri Bottas insists he has learned a lot during his first season with Mercedes and says he is ready to put that into practise in 2018.

The Finn was a late addition to the Mercedes roster ahead of the 2017 campaign following the shock retirement of Nico Rosberg after he claimed the Drivers’ Championship.

Bottas, who is priced at 7.00 to win the Abu Dhabi GP outright, appears to have settled into life with the Silver Arrows quite smoothly and he claimed his first ever race victory at the Russian Grand Prix before going on to add a second chequered flag to his tally in Austria.

The former Williams man boasts a further 12 podium finishes to his name after a reasonably successful maiden season with Mercedes and he is hoping to build on that next term.

The 28-year-old sits third in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the final event in Abu Dhabi over the weekend and he admits he has already started looking ahead to 2018.

Bottas said: “I think the balance sheet is a bit up-and-down. There were many good moments and performances but many disappointments as well.

“The main thing for me is the amount I’ve been able to learn. The amount I’ve been able to grow as a driver and things I can take for the future.

That’s what matters. Lewis Hamilton won the title, as my team mate, so we had a car to do it and he beat me this year. So, I’ve learnt a lot and that’s why I’m really looking ahead.”