Valtteri Bottas is not willing to settle for second best behind Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes this year and intends to emulate Nico Rosberg by beating his new teammate to the title.

Bottas replaced Rosberg over the winter after the reigning champion decided to retire just five days after securing the 2016 title.

It was only the second time in Hamilton's F1 career that he had been beaten by his teammate over a season and the first time he had lost out on the title to a teammate.

Bottas, who has yet to win a race in F1 after four seasons at Williams, says Rosberg's 2016 season proved it is possible to beat Hamilton.

"I feel it is possible," he told Sky Sports. "Nico showed beating Lewis is possible. I am not here to be in second place or worse. It is definitely a challenge, and going up against Lewis is always going to be a challenge, but for me a massive opportunity."

Bottas admits his record in F1 does not stack up well against Hamilton, but is confident he can prove his potential if he is given a race-winning car.

"I really respect what he [Hamilton] has done with his career, so many poles and wins and three titles. I still don't have a race win so I have a lot to prove. I haven't yet proved pretty much anything in Formula One, everything is still ahead."