Rosberg admits Bottas might be "the perfect driver"
- Published on 14 Aug 2017 12:02
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Nico Rosberg has said that Valtteri Bottas may be the perfect driver mentally, as the Finn unwinds after a tense first half to the 2017 season. Bottas joined Mercedes at the start of the year after spending four years at Williams, replacing Rosberg who retired after becoming world champion.
Bottas has picked up one pole position and two race wins, and is being considered by some as a championship contender. Rosberg dropped a bombshell on Mercedes at the end of 2016 when he retired, a decision which he admits might have hurt Mercedes: "I wouldn't exactly say that," he told Auto Bild, "but of course my departure was difficult for them, especially with the new regulations."
Mercedes seemed to start the year slightly behind Ferrari, who won two of the opening three races: "It's nothing against Ferrari, but they were able to start with their new car much earlier," Rosberg commented. "So that was their advantage. But Mercedes is still very, very strong - when you look at the car, the level of detail is just amazing."
When questioned about his replacement at the team, he said: "I'm really impressed He might be the perfect driver mentally because he is able to just concentrate on himself, making him consistent and fast."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (6)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
He is good, very good. Perfect? No. But give him time, and he could become one of the best.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
perfect doesn't exactly mean the fastest
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Something perfect is something unmatched. The most consistent. The best at developing, the most technical. Perfect is by all means a synonym to best, so by all means the perfect driver is the fastest one. We can clearly see that he isnt the fastest, at least not yet, but he does have a solid ground to build on.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Perfectly strong #2 driver. To me Bottas is still more like Rosberg than anything else. Fast enough to occasionally beat Lewis.
Barron
Posts: 625
There's a fire missing in his belly. Another Iceman but not as naturally quick. Rosberg is perfectly entitled to his opinion but he's way wide of the mark here.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
He's definitely in the title fight with 9 races to go. Very cool under pressure and has had some great quali's and races so far. Would love to see him beat the Hamster.