Last week at the Australian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas proved that he had banished the demons of 2018. The Mercedes driver utterly dominated the pack and even his teammate Lewis Hamilton. This was in stark contrast to the 2018 season where Hamilton had the measure of his teammate.

To celebrate the first win of the season, the Mercedes team gave a small tribute to the Finn. It started with a look back at his dismal and unlucky 2018 season. They even showed the infamous “Valtteri, it’s James,” moment, a moment that has been the butt of jokes for a while.

But now, the 29-year old is on the road to redemption and it all starts with his win in Melbourne. However, it is important to note that this is only the first race of the season. The championship should be much clearer when the paddock reaches Bahrain.

However, there is no insinuating that Bottas got lucky in Melbourne. On that day, he was clearly the superior driver and his pace showed it. However, what is actually surprising was the lack of pace from Scuderia Ferrari and the very visible threat of Max Verstappen.