Valtteri Bottas has left Mercedes after 5 successful seasons with the team. He helped the team in securing 5 consecutive constructors’ championships. He could not secure a drivers’ championship as he lost out to his teammate Lewis Hamilton and in 2021 to Max Verstappen.

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button explained that there were certain areas in which Bottas was weaker than Hamilton. He pointed out race pace and wheel-to-wheel racing as some of his biggest weaknesses.

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Valtteri Bottas is a super-fast driver if he’s in his day: Jenson Button

As reported by Motorsport-Turkey, the 2009 world champion praised the Finn for his speed in the qualifying sessions. He mentioned Valtteri was faster than Lewis in the second half of the season in qualifying.

“Valtteri is a super-fast driver if he’s in his day, but it’s not consistent enough when you compare it to Lewis and Max [Verstappen]. But those two are on another level right now,” Button said.

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“This year, he frequently outpaced Lewis in qualifying, especially in the second half of the season. Still, he needed a change now, a career break, and racing for a new team. Alfa Romeo will be a fresh start for him,” said Jenson.

Former world champion and fellow Sky pundit Nico Rosberg agreed with Button’s analysis of Bottas’ weaknesses. He too concurred that Valtteri is not as combative in wheel-to-wheel battles as Lewis or Max.

“Valtteri’s main weakness was racing in general, probably his biggest weakness compared to Lewis was racing pace. I also think he’s weak compared to Lewis in wheel-to-wheel combat and overtaking,” said Rosberg.

Despite several shots at the championship, the Finnish driver could not take the title away from Lewis Hamilton. He ended his Mercedes tenure with 10 victories and 58 podiums for the team from 2017 to 2021. Hopefully, Bottas can show his true race pace and overtaking skills at Alfa Romeo in the 2022 season.

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