Nico Rosberg mentions some of the few shortcomings of his successor Valtteri Bottas as he failed to defeat Lewis Hamilton for the title.
Valtteri Bottas himself doesn’t consider his Mercedes stint as successful. In the past five years in the fastest car on the grid, Bottas didn’t even close himself in any title fight.
Thus, he was seen more like a docile partner of Lewis Hamilton, who won all the championships in the meantime except for 2021. Now, the Finnish race driver is leaving Mercedes for Alfa Romeo.
Meanwhile, Bottas’ predecessor Nico Rosberg, the only man to defeat Hamilton for the championship in the turbo-hybrid era before Max Verstappen, points out the weaknesses of the 32-year-old driver.
“For Alfa [Romeo] he’ll be a great addition to the team, certainly,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “His weaknesses have been a little bit the racing, race pace compared to Lewis has been probably one of the biggest weaknesses.”
“And also I think wheel-to-wheel racing, overtaking, has been a bit of a weakness for Valtteri compared to Lewis.”
Also read: Valtteri Bottas reveals why he chose Alfa Romeo over Williams after Mercedes exit
Valtteri Bottas may be quickest on his day but not consistent enough
Meanwhile, former world champion Jenson Button thinks that granted Bottas can be unbeatable on his day. However, those days are rare, thus not fruitful enough.
Welcome to the team, @ValtteriBottas! 🤜🏻🤛🏻 pic.twitter.com/vD6yfRHT5y
— Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN (@alfaromeoracing) January 1, 2022
“He is super quick on his day, but the consistency isn’t there when you compare him to Lewis and Max [Verstappen], but they’re just on another level right now,” said Button. “He has out-qualified Lewis quite a lot this year [2021], especially the latter part of the season.”
Nevertheless, Button holds the opinion that Bottas needs a change at this stage. Therefore, he thinks that the Finnish race driver’s move to Alfa Romeo would be great.
“But he needs a change as well, he needs a change in his career and to drive for a new team,” Button continued. “He’s bringing a lot with him and it’s a new release for him. It’s a fresh start.”
Also read: Sebastian Vettel on Valtteri Bottas leaving Silver Arrows
