Bottas has proven that he's as fast as anyone out there by getting poles and winning the moment he got into Merc. Comparing him to the likes of Vettel, Max and Hamilton is once again too soon right now because this is his 2nd year driving a Merc. Meanwhile, Max, Vettel and Hamilton have been in their cars for much more time now. Who knows what other reasons there are but by winning in his 1st year, Bottas has proven he's not a slouch. As we all know, if the car itself is having setup issues, then the best driver will be severely limited.WaikeCU wrote: ↑06 Sep 2018, 11:00Off-topic:Sierra117 wrote: ↑06 Sep 2018, 10:14The problem became that their rivalry began to split the team. Bottas also did not have the childhood friendship/rivalry with Lewis that causes that driving force to compete so fiercely, so the team is in much more harmony as there is no history. Perhaps if these two stay together for the next few years, they'll build up enough of a relationship to create a more serious rivalry, so it doesn't make sense to say Bottas is settling for #2 when it's only his 2nd year working with Lewis in a new team.alexx_88 wrote: ↑06 Sep 2018, 09:07I think Nico deserves that praise. He didn't settle with a comfortable #2 (like Bottas is doing right now) and pushed Lewis really hard while working with, what a lot of us agree to be, less natural ability. What he did, the hard work he put in and how he covered absolutely everything through ungodly amounts of preparation is a really nice story of success and how the underdog can fight his way through.
I would also argue that he's not "settling" for #2. He hasn't managed to beat Lewis recently so now, with half the season over, he's naturally and mathematically in a #2 spot. And as many have said several times before, it's a team sport so at a certain point the team result becomes #1 priority. Especially now when Ferrari and Mercedes are closely matched. I much rather prefer team vs team than the eventually-self-destructive teammate vs teammate.
I think Bottas' problem is that he's just not as fast as the likes of Hamilton, Vettel and Max at the moment. So if I was him, I would just make the best of it, since he's driving perhaps (one of) the fastest cars of the grid. I think he's a great 'team' person to have with in a team, a great worker, driver and a loyal one. I think all teams could use a driver like him. So if Merc are happy with him and Lewis is happy with him, Bottas should not make a fuss about being 2nd driver and just drive that Merc. It's his best chance of getting some race wins under his belt at the very moment. He's the Finnish David Coulthard, Eddie Irvine or Gerhard Berger imo. Kind of reminds me of Kovalainen during Lewis' Mclaren days, but a lot faster than him.
Also, I'd personally not include Max in these comparisons. He's fast because he just throws it all in, which is also how you end up with all these crashes and altercations he ends up in all the time. I'm sure if Bottas adopted the same "my way or the highway" approach, he'd be much faster as well.
I think Bottas is going to spend some time just observing and learning from Lewis and then we'll suddenly see him get really good.
Either way, like all things, time will tell. But so far it all works well for the Mercedes machine and if the Mercedes machine is going along happily, then no need to fix if it ain't broke, right?
, pricks getting aimed)
