New Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has said he’s not concerned about comments suggesting that going up against Lewis Hamilton in 2017 could prove to be a ‘career killer’ for the Finn.

Hamilton’s father and former manager Anthony Hamilton said this week that “Anybody who goes up against Lewis needs to have planned their career correctly because it could be a career-ending move when you go up against Lewis.”

But Bottas said that the prospect of having the three-time world champion as a team mate in 2017 didn’t worry him.

“I wouldn’t want to be my teammate, either,” he told Finnish broadcaster MTV this week.

“Let’s wait and see. The season starts soon so we’ll see how it goes,” the 27-year-old added.

Bottas has joined the reigning constructors champions Mercedes for 2017 after serving four years at Williams. He was signed last month as a late replacement for Nico Rosberg, who announced his retirement from Formula 1 just five days after winning the 2016 world championship.

Currently signed to just a one year contract at Mercedes, Bottas will be keenly aware that he has to make an immediate impact at the team and deliver quick results if the team are to be persuaded not to look at signing the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who will both be free agents in 2018.