Head To Head Lewis Hamilton vs Valtteri Bottas

[FB]

A new match up for us to get our teeth in to! Hamilton will be in his 11th year in F1 this season and has only been beaten by a team mate twice during that time - Button in 2012 and Rosberg in 2016.

How will Bottas fair when put against Team Hamilton? This will be season 6 for Bottas and he has never stood on the top step of the podium. I suspect this will change in 2017 but will his role be as a willing No.2 to Lewis or can we expect him to offer a serious challenge to one of the top 3 drivers on the grid.

Ready, set, go...

 

[gethinceri]

That Bottas is a great driver can only really be proven against one of the current "greats", this is his chance to be "Not Rubens" and I will watch with as much interest as I watched Hamilton vs Rosberg. It will be just one feature of what I expect to be an intriguing season.

 

[Road of Bones]

Let's hope he's not another Heikki...

(I think you'll find it was 2011 when JB spanked da Ham, FB...)

 

[FB]

Meh, 2011, 2012 it was all a conspiracy organised by Martin Whitmarsh.

 

[teabagyokel]

(I think you'll find it was 2011 when JB spanked da Ham, FB...)

It was also the year he beat Hamilton in the Championship.

 

[gethinceri]

He always beat him in the Lovely Boy Championship.

 

[Il_leone]

Well chance for Valtteri to show himself... apparently he has a better mental capacity than Rosberg according to Williams but his overall pace against Massa is not convincing and does not suggest he will trouble Hamilton

Usually it takes one good result and that might be the catalyst for him to be a frontrunner

 

[olegg]

Well chance for Valtteri to show himself... apparently he has a better mental capacity than Rosberg according to Williams but his overall pace against Massa is not convincing and does not suggest he will trouble Hamilton

Usually it takes one good result and that might be the catalyst for him to be a frontrunner

But how did Valtteri show himself against Massa?

 

[Il_leone]

olegg That is the point I am making that he did not thrash Massa like the way Alonso did who Hamilton matched and occasionally bested

By that evaluation he is going to be off Hamilton's pace initially

 

[Galahad]

He's mentally strong, which I fear he'll need to be. I seem to think he's been good at managing the tyres, which may (or may not, eh?) be a redundant skill in the 2017 formula. I would be surprised if he ends up far away from where Nico was.

 

[gethinceri]

WDC then Galahad?

 

[Galahad]

If he gets 3 or 4 goes at it, gethinceri.

Though I keep expecting Hamilton to retire, so maybe then it could come sooner.

 

[Titch]

Why are you expecting Hamilton to retire?

 

[Galahad]

Why are you expecting Hamilton to retire?

I just don't see him as a Massa or Barrichello type, who would keep going just for the love of driving. But, it's just a hunch.

 

[RasputinLives]

I expect Lewis to head to America to do single seaters there at somepoint in his career.

*I originally wrote setters(auto correct) instead of seaters so edited it. Incubus response was pretty funny though so thought I'd write an explanation here*

 

[Incubus]

How does could he hope to breed them if he keeps them single?! (sorry, couldn't resist )

 

[RasputinLives]

Edited it. Does could it read better now?

 

[Galahad]

For the record, I agree with this bit:

I expect Lewis to head to America

but not this bit:

to do single seaters there at somepoint in his career.

- unfortunately, there's no money in Indycars any more, and it's a big step to risk your life when you've got very little left to prove, and aren't being well paid for it. A bit blunt perhaps, but there it is.

 

[Incubus]

I don't know about single-seaters but I do remember him in a TV interview saying he would love to try his hand in Nascar racing at some point...

 

[gethinceri]

When he's finished with F1, which will be when he realises that he won't match Scumacher's record, he won't compete in motor racing again.