Mercedes praise Bottas for providing "advantage" over Red Bull
Mercedes praise Bottas for providing "advantage" over Red Bull
Valtteri Bottas has been praised for his "solid" driving that has given Mercedes the advantage over Red Bull in its efforts to retain the F1 title this season, despite his apparent struggles.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have traded first and second places in the opening four races but Bottas has been third on three occasions, including at the last race in Spain, to stack up vital extra points for Mercedes.
In comparison, Sergio Perez has so far failed to settle at Red Bull as he continues to follow a steep learning curve after joining the team from Racing Point at the start of this year.
With regard to Bottas, Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said: “He was solid through the weekend [in Spain].
"That’s an advantage we’re enjoying with our two drivers that we’re seeing more consistently than they are at Red Bull.”
The gap between Hamilton and Verstappen is now 14 points, but with Perez only scoring two fifths and a fourth so far, the difference between the 'second' cars has given Mercedes a 29-point advantage over Red Bull.
Bottas started from third on the grid in Spain but dropped behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc on the opening lap and lost crucial time, which meant there was no chance for him to chase down Verstappen for second place.
Shovlin added: “It certainly limited his potential because once he’d lost that chunk of time he had to push quite hard to recover it. It certainly pretty much consigned him to P3 as a best-case scenario
“There wasn’t really a lot to fight for in his regard. But his car pace was good so that was encouraging to see and certainly his pace in qualifying was right on the money.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 boss HITS BACK at star driver over schedule complaints
- 9 minutes ago
F1 2025 Driver Lineup: Big names on the move as half the grid reshuffles for next season
- 1 hour ago
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- Today 11:27
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- Today 13:59
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- Today 12:59
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- Today 12:38
Related news
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
Hamilton car camera captures Verstappen's TRUE feelings toward F1 rival
Marko reveals Vettel requirements for stunning F1 comeback
Fierce Hamilton F1 rival raises timing issue for Ferrari move
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860