Well, it's a matter of degree or terminology then - as noted by the link Bas provided, Bottas outqualified, outraced, and outscored Massa comprehensively throughout the season. In 2014 it was similar (outqualified and outscored by Bottas), in 2015 qualifying was closer to even but Massa was still out scored by Bottas. Nonetheless, call it trounced or just comprehensively outscored, EVERY year they were paired, Bottas beat Massa... and Bottas ain't no Alonso. . Massa's time to hang it up was overdue last year, this year will be embarrassing for Massa and his fans, and entertaining for F1 fans who aren't fans of Massa. I avoided posting to the "Massa sucks!" thread through most of last year after he announced his retirement (forced because Williams didn't want him anymore and nobody else did either), but this year will be fair game.
I think that driver skills are pretty close overall. I expect Bottas to have a short settling in period before making an impact. I don't expect him to equal Rosberg, though, as Nico was with the Merc team from Day 1. All of that experience doesn't just transfer to another driver.
If the Merc is again the dominant car in 2017 would expect Bottas to be right up there with Lewis at the first race.He is a pretty cool character,kind of like Kimi but he can also string a few sentences together.. Lol If it turns into a bit of a dog fight with Ricci and Max then we will find out for sure how he stacks up pretty quickly.i believe he has more than enough raw talent to race with the best of them. He has just a 1 year contract for now ,so the challenge will be to race Lewis without doing anything stupid like banging wheels and yet be competitive enough to bring home the Constructors...and be rewarded with an extension on his contract. Toto just said 'Lewis is probably the best driver in the world at the moment and if he gets it together on a weekend he is, in my opinion, almost unbeatable, but Valtteri has all the ingredients.' So it will be fascinating how it all eventually pans out.
+1 The logical explanation for Mercedes taking on Bottas is so Elton is not challenged, like when Ferrari took on Massa as number 2 for Schumacher. Pete
First of all, looking strictly on points alone, yeah, Bottas was better than Massa. But when you put DNFs and team errors in the equation, they were pretty much even. Second, I don't see any less dignity in coming back and coach a young driver for $5M. In fact, for your information, many ex-drivers work as coaches, whether formally or informally, to family friends or even to newbies.
So, with this big regulation change, what if Williams becomes a new Brawn and Massa fights for the championship? :-D Anyway, I will put my bets on Red Bull this year.
Massa got an extra ball and for good or for bad, nobody expects anything from him, nobody will ask him to win, he just has to set some reasonable lap times to serve as a benchmark for the engineers and the rich newbie. Just relax, some fun and lots of cash. What´s wrong with that? If I was in his situation I´d take that deal without doubt.
I think this will answer and create some new questions. We all debate if this or that person was in that car... what would happen. So.. If Bottas splits victories with Lewis, does that mean drivers really for the most part... interchangeable or does it mean he was just as good as Nico? If Lewis totally dominates him, will that settle some questions as to whether or not Lewis really is one of the best drivers?
Bottas is not exactly spoken of in hushed tones waiting for him to show his true potential and join the greats, so I certainly wouldn't be thinking Elton is any more than a good driver if he beats bottles. If it were Alonso, or Vettel, ricciardo or verstappen going to Mercedes, and he beat one of them, then I guess the fan boys could see Eltons star actually start to burn a little brighter in the eyes of those who doubt him
Sounds like Williams' engineers think very very highly of Bottas! MORE THAN JUST A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS - Why Mercedes picked Bottas - F1 - Autosport Plus The Finn looks like someone to slot in at short notice who will do a good job without rocking Hamilton's boat, trying too hard to make an impression, or occasionally going missing through inexperience. He also possesses an even temperament, which should help Mercedes avoid the sort of internal conflicts that became a regular feature of the recent Hamilton/Rosberg rivalry. But Bottas is much, much more than just a safe pair of hands. Over the past four seasons he quietly became Williams's best driver - the reference point around which it focused its competitive effort, a driver its ex-technical chief Pat Symonds reckoned was "crucial" to the team's hopes of future success, and someone his former Williams race engineer Jonathan Eddolls describes to Autosport as "bulletproof", and reckons is a better driver than Rosberg. "I worked with Rosberg. I've worked with them [both] in different eras. Definitely I think he [Bottas] is better," says Eddolls, who has worked with Bottas since he first drove in free practice sessions for Williams in F1, in 2012. "Even back in '12 we could tell that he had a natural talent. And what was good was after every Friday we'd go through all the data, tyre temperatures, what he was doing, the slip [of the tyres], how he was driving, the pros and cons of what he was doing, and he'd understand.
+1 And as for Williams rating him ... So what they haven't actually been in contention for a win I think for my whole teenage sons life! And you have to be even tempered if you aren't fast. Pete
So Bottas is on a 1 year contract. It's admirable, I don't think many established drivers would've agreed, even for the Merc seat. Great to see a driver that believes himself since he's basically now driving against Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso. http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/wolff-mercedes-has-faith-in-bottas-but-wants-2018-options-open-866542/?s=1
Tons of pressure on Hamilton. If he beats Bottas, his critics will say that Bottas wasn't really in his league anyway. If Bottas beats him, then they will say that Hamilton isn't that great. Time to see what he's made of here. The season is going to be really exciting in my opinion.
IMO still leaves Merc open if they want to leave the sport/sell team. Easier to do without massive $ contracts tied to the sale.
I think Merc will make him a designated number 2. Although if i was bottas and i only have a 1 year contract, i'd up my own stake and go for the gold.
Already confirmed they will be allowed to race under same rules that applied between Rosberg and Hamilton. If Bottles is fast it will be interesting to see how well he plays the mind games part of it all.
I don't think Bottas signing for Mercedes is necessarily a good deal for the Finn. The contract is only for one year, with no guaranty for the future. Toto Wolff said that he wants to keep his options open for 2018, when a few drivers could be on the market. He has Alonso and Vettel in mind, and possibly Sainz. Well, unless Bottas really impresses this year, he may be replaced by one of those 3. So, where would that leave him? A return to Williams at best, but maybe no drive at all.
