Bottas vs Hamilton - Page 10

chillibowl · 17 Jul 2017, 16:36 (Ref:3752188)

23 points down with 10 races left...thats close enough with enough races left that merc wont explicitly place a supporting role requirement on him...thats not really this team's style imo.

Bottas is growing in confidence and ability with each race...its actually been very cool to see.

while he lacks LH's raw speed so quali will be an issue but i do also think he is much better at race starts over LH and given this car's advantage tends to mean a Merc in front will tend to stay out in front, i do think VB should very much be considered a title contender this year.

for me, i dont think the issue of number 2 (or even 1.5) has been settled yet!

stripedcat · 27 Aug 2017, 14:55 (Ref:3762005)

Oh dear, Bottas. Today was not a good day. 6th. Oh dear. Could have been 3rd.

S griffin · 27 Aug 2017, 19:11 (Ref:3762092)

Quote:

Originally Posted by stripedcat

Oh dear, Bottas. Today was not a good day. 6th. Oh dear. Could have been 3rd.

I just want to say that he was actually 5th

**chunterer** · 27 Aug 2017, 21:47 (Ref:3762166)

Quote:

Originally Posted by S griffin

I just want to say that he was actually 5th

Got mugged after the sc. I bet he's one unhappy chappy after that.

S griffin · 28 Aug 2017, 09:07 (Ref:3762264)

Yes that was a bit unfortunate, looks like he needs a bit of luck to stay in the title fight. Support roll for Lewis coming up

BSchneiderFan · 28 Aug 2017, 13:07 (Ref:3762322)

I think Mercedes will be content enough with his performance so far this year. He's handily beating Räikkönen and has taken the odd win. I think a year to settle in at the front of the grid is reasonable. Next year (assuming he stays) will determine whether he's a genuine challenger for the title or a solid number two.

wnut · 9 Nov 2017, 02:11 (Ref:3779558)

What has happened to Bottas?

Stories that the car is a diva and not to his liking do not explain his lack of performance, he is supposed to be a top caliber professional racing driver, and proved to be a good match for Hamilton up until the Austrian GP.

Since Austria where he won, Bottas has basically been missing in action.
He has scored three second places against Hamilton's 6 wins, so has been the least competitive team mate in the field, not even backing Hamilton up?

Has anybody seen an interview with Bottas where he has directly been asked to explain his lack of performance?

S griffin · 9 Nov 2017, 10:12 (Ref:3779586)

He had an interview on the Flying Lap recently, but can't remember what he exactly said about his struggles

Razzzor · 12 Nov 2017, 00:47 (Ref:3779982)

Yes I'm curious to know more as well. I think the races where he was closer to Lewis earlier in the season were really only because Lewis was struggling with the diva car. So Bottas probably hasn't gotten any worse, it' s just that Lewis is no longer struggling. This might be the legit difference between Lew and Valty, of course a little of it just being Lew Lew has been in the team what 4 years now and will be more comfortable in the car and environment.

I always thought Bottas wasn't the best choice. He could barely beat Massa half the time. D-Ric again not happy after qualy, they should have poached him from RB. I guess they're waiting on Ocon instead to see how he goes another year against Perez. But yeah Bottas is not championship material this year, Rosberg would have cleaned him up.

S griffin · 12 Nov 2017, 10:01 (Ref:3780026)

I think Bottas can hopefully do well here and in Abu Dhabi and use it as a springboard for 2018, as he has the talent, he just needs to show it more

Razzzor · 12 Nov 2017, 21:19 (Ref:3780102)

Bottas starts on pole, Lewis from pit lane and would have still caught him if Kimi didn't get in the way. Imagine if Ham started from pole, he'd have won by 30 seconds. I'd replace him with Ricciardo for 2018.

Articus · 12 Nov 2017, 22:15 (Ref:3780107)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Bottas starts on pole, Lewis from pit lane and would have still caught him if Kimi didn't get in the way. Imagine if Ham started from pole, he'd have won by 30 seconds. I'd replace him with Ricciardo for 2018.

Not saying I disagree, but keep in mind that some of the performance gap came from Hamilton with a new power unit dialed up and significant setup changes for the hot weather today since starting from pitlane meant no Parc Ferme. Qualifying was completed in much cooler conditions and light rain. So all of the other cars are compromised with the setup.

VIVA GT · 13 Nov 2017, 07:01 (Ref:3780152)

I always say that there's nothing like a good conspiracy theory (and this is nothing like a good conspiracy theory), but I was interested to note that this weekend (in free practice anyway), VB was much closer to the pace of his team mate. Is it possible that Mercedes have been restricting his speed somehow until Lewis had secured the Championship?

steve_r · 13 Nov 2017, 08:30 (Ref:3780164)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I always say that there's nothing like a good conspiracy theory (and this is nothing like a good conspiracy theory), but I was interested to note that this weekend (in free practice anyway), VB was much closer to the pace of his team mate. Is it possible that Mercedes have been restricting his speed somehow until Lewis had secured the Championship?

Or maybe, just maybe Bottas is not quite as quick as his multiple WDC winning teammate...

Moneyseeker · 13 Nov 2017, 12:19 (Ref:3780180)

Was VB's change to shine without having to differ to LH and he came up short and showed that although very quick, he's not in the HAM, VES, VET, RIC, ALO league.