I just wan't to know if this crossed anyone elses mind, this isnot a bashing thread, just a curiosity of mine. In the beggining of the year, Bottas was very near Elton, and he was able to beat him from time to time, and it was clear Elton was heving serious trouble to cope with the fact that he was being chalenged both by Ferrri and his new team mate. However, when it became clear that Ferrari threat was the real deal, Elton started with his whining, saying Ferrari had a clear number one and Merc didn't, and soon after, BOttas started to fade away, suddenly he was no longer a treath, neither to hamilton or Seb, the car no longer syuited him....now, after Elton clinched the title, Bottas again is on pair with his team mate, his Merc is again as fast as The Ferrari and the number 44 machine.....what do you guys think? Coincidence, or did Merce sabotage Bottas in order to calm down Elton and help him in the title fight?
Lauda mentioned that the car was developed more into the direction of Lewis´driving style during the season and that Bottas struggled a little bit to adapt... Maybe he was also loosing a bit of his motivation when he became defacto No.2 driver. I doubt that Mercedes sabotaged him as this would not make sense: if he is as stong as Hamilton they can still give out team order and he would finish in front of Seb. I think: when Bottas resigned they told him that Lewis is their No.1 and he lost parts of his motivation...Now as Lewis is WDC he is more motivated showing them that he can also win.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132969/bottas-overcoming-handicap-of-2017-mercedes Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says Valterri Bottas's Brazilian GP pole reflects the fact that the Finn is now getting more out of the W08 after his recent struggles. Bottas was carrying the hopes of the team after Lewis Hamilton crashed at the start of Q1, relegating the world champion to last on the grid. In a battle with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel he stole position on his second run, which Mercedes chiefs Wolff and Niki Lauda said was a sign of Bottas overcoming the difficulties this year's car has caused for him. "We knew that if you lose one of your two it's going to be very difficult to beat Vettel," said Wolff. "Valtteri just managed to extract everything of the car in that last lap. It was very close. "He was on an upward slope in the last races, but this weekend was very good - every session he was competitive. "For me, it's a positive indication that he is understanding the car better and is on the right trajectory. "The car is very sensitive and the tyre is very sensitive, and you can see that with other teams as well - little steps can throw you off the grip curve. "He's putting the dots together and this has eventually led to better performance."
There is no mystery as to what happened. Bottas was simply reminded that he was hired to be #2, and it was time to start driving like it. Can't upset the Star.
Totally right mate, took him a while to realise that HIS OWN MANAGER allowed him to sign a contract as a number two, not a level playing field, and once he had read it himself, motivation began to fade. Additionally, Mercedes were developing their car to suit elton as their chosen number one, to the detriment of bottles style. Once he faded, he couldn't get back in time. Now he's finally gotten used to the car and Mercedes are allowing him engine modes he wasn't given before but only because elton has been beaten before the race gets going last two. If elton is in front, and bottles looks quick, that's when we will see if his manager will do the honourable thing and make elton move out the way..... bet he doesn't, and bet elton won't do it if ordered anyway
Now you know I don't drink. So you know if you buy them I will just give those 25 beers back to you to drink You're so clever mate!
If Hamilton hadn't binned it in qualy, in all likelihood he would have likely been on pole and won the race, demoting Bottas 3rd...and you'd probably be going on about Bottas being 'way-off' or a lapdog etc. Hamilton's fastest race lap was 6 tenths quicker today. Literally nothing has changed. Bottas has been fast on numerous occasions this season, but inconsistent.
Fastest race lap in this formula really isn't that relevant, store up and sacrifice to unleash one killer lap. It is not often the guy at the front being hounded has the fastest lap of the race; because they have to go for the long haul pace rather than a one lap focus. A season's results are more telling in this formula than a single laptime in a race.
Of course...my point being though, there was nothing particularly usual or noteworthy about Bottas' pace relative to Hamilton on this particular weekend.
There has been very little noteworthy about Bottas pace in F1, he had a tough time with Massa at Williams.
Lewis would most likely have beaten Bottas by a lil bit. on a short track the difference would be less than usual.Bottas needs to dig deep next year ,maybe he will soldier on and eventually manage to do a Nicole ?
Agian Bottas beats Elton..and quite frankly, at least for ple position, i just don't believe Elton wouldn't have grabbed it if he could.....nope, something wasn't quite right with Bottas car for most of the season...
Agreed...if the car was set up for Bottas instead of Louise, I think the season would have went much differently.
Agree. Hamilton had the pole until he almost lost it all on the final corner. Were he on pole, he would have driven off into the sunset. Instead, it was advantage Bottas because he started up front (and held his position on the start). Hamilton tried to keep it close and pressure him into a mistake, but by the time VB made one, LH's tires were toast. Good drive by Valtierri and a nice way for him to end the season.
Perhaps this is true, but would it be desirable to do so? Look at Kimi when he was at Lotus, he changed the car's setup and design to suit him. Lotus went from back field to podiums over a season. The same happened when Kimi went to Ferrari and Alonso left Ferrari. Radical improvement in the Ferrari's pace. Perhaps Hamilton's driving style is the better way; and so it is chosen by the engineers? Bottas is actually pretty impressive, however his results are times hampered by focusing on having at least one Mercedes defeating Ferrari over all else. Bottas would likely only be able to challenge Lewis in a situation where no other team was close in points, or Lewis had severe problems that made Lewis unable to lead the points. The only fishy thing that I feel has gone on; has been Hamilton's relationship with the steward and penalties. Things have not been equal situation to situation for Hamilton vs the rest of the field. There are many many incidents where Hamilton should of been penalized, and was not. Other drivers got a penalty for the same thing. But one team favoring a driver over another, will, and almost always should be the case in F1. Especially at the very front of the field.
Regarding the original post, I think the Merc was a bit of a wild stallion at the beginning of the season (after Ferrari successfully protested the suspension and Merc removed it). Until they got the suspension/tire issue figured out, I think Hamilton had problems at the handling circuits, while Bottas was able to adjust to a less predictable car. VB is more calculating and mechanical, Hamilton more aggressive. Calculating and mechanical is more suited to an inconsistent car. I did think it would be nip-and-tuck between the two of them this year. Perhaps Bottas' early season performance got Hamilton's attention and pushed him to value each race result and to work harder?
Or Bottas was never intended to be a real challenge for Lewis Why would Mercedes want a fight like they had in previous year? They won all they wanted, the WCC and the WDC without drama that way without loosing any hairs...They are happy, their no.1 driver is happy so all things are good..and if their no.2 driver is not there are easily 5 drivers standing in line to take over his place.
