Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok sat down with the ‘Fast Lane’ podcast to discuss the road to the championship for Mercedes and Red Bull. As a result, in discussing Valtteri Bottas’ role as the Mercedes second driver, Chandhok had some hot takes on his recent races; especially after the announcement of Bottas’ move to Alfa Romeo.

Karun Chandhok looked at Zandvoort and Sochi. “Ever since it’s been announced that he’s gone … Sochi to me was Valtteri’s weakest race of the year. He started 16th ahead of Max and Leclerc and there’s a point in the race, just before the rain came down, he was 14th; and he started in a Mercedes and basically let Max through as well. “

Analyzing the Finn’s racing, Chandhok said, “that’s the sign of a guy who’s checked out.”

While Bottas got to the podium in Monza and rightfully won the sprint race, the Russian GP move was unexpected. Bottas is known for being a king of the Autodrom; expectations were high despite him being pushed back to 15th in a ‘strategic’ move.

Is Chandhok on the money with his analysis? With 16 rounds of the season, Bottas is yet to win a race. With the remaining 7 likely to favor Hamilton’s champion run, will team orders botch Bottas till the end?

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Chandhok also said that the psychological aspect of the game plays a crucial role. “His qualifying performances tell you that clearly there’s a lot of speed in there but mentally, he’s unfortunately just checked out.”

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez in their roles

The lack of defense against Verstappen was zilch in Sochi, surprising everyone. However, even if Bottas has “checked out” of his second-man role in Mercedes , repeatedly, he’s proved to be the perfect teammate to Lewis Hamilton.

Chandhok mentioned this as well, as he looked at Perez’s performance this season. As the second driver at Red Bull , the team relies on Czech for strategic placements in order to push for more points in both championships. However, when the action is in the top three positions of the race, Sergio Perez is seldom nearby.

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The Indian commented, “the only two races he’s did play that role was Baku and France. I don’t think the rest of the races he’s ever been close enough to get in the mixture to create those strategic difficulties for Mercedes, which is what Red Bull wanted to do. “

Both drivers have driven spectacular races this season; Checo is in his debut season with the big team, while Bottas is leaving it for a smaller one. The juxtaposition of the situation also contributes to how rarely the second drivers have played a strategic role in the races.

As things get tighter at the top of the board, the closer we get to the end of the season. Questions that are left for the next seven rounds remain- Will Bottas win before leaving Mercedes? Will Perez step up on the podium this season? And, who will win the championship?

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