Max Verstappen victory a "wake-up call" for Mercedes - Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

Verstappen victory a "wake-up call" for Mercedes - Bottas

Verstappen dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 15 December 2020 07:29

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has warned his team it faces a "wake-up call" from Red Bull after Max Verstappen's dominant victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Pole-sitter Verstappen beat Bottas by 16 seconds after leading from lights-to-flag at the Yas Marina Circuit as Mercedes had no answer for the Dutch driver's pace.

After being left stunned by Verstappen's performance over the weekend, the Finn has now insisted Mercedes must keep its wits about them ahead of next season.

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"They were surprisingly good," said Bottas. "Alex [Albon] was really close to Lewis [Hamilton] at the end so we just didn't have the pace.

"I am sure we will look at everything and learn from it. Maybe it is a bit of a wake-up call for us that nothing comes easy in this sport and that we have to keep pushing over the winter."

Despite being resoundingly beaten by Verstappen, Bottas was at least able to get the better of Hamilton for the first time since the Russian Grand Prix.

The 31-year-old believes the result was a welcome reminder of his talent, allowing him to regroup ahead of a renewed championship tilt in 2021.

"I think for me personally, it was a good, solid race," said Bottas. "With the safety car quite early on, it meant strategy was the same for everyone.

"So not many opportunities and Red Bull was too quick. Personally, I feel it was a strong race but as a team, we were not quick enough.

"But I think this weekend was positive from my own performance and being able to beat Lewis is always a good thing as a reminder I can do it. I am ready to get some rest and a good reset and get ready to start again."