Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton had a very comfortable weekend with Lewis very much ahead both in qualifying and during the race. Hamilton’s speed on the track is truly frightening as he closes the gap between himself and Max Verstappen in the driver’s championship.
Whatever Hamilton has done or whatever Mercedes have done, it’s working like nothing else has this season and the gap between Lewis and Max has reversed quite a bit these last few races.
But, of course, Valtteri Bottas had a rough go of it this weekend, however, he did show us that he is actually capable of climbing up the grid when pushed.
This entire season, any time Bottas faced some misfortune that sent him either to the back or middle of the grid, he would struggle to gain position. This is in spite of his obviously powerful Mercedes. If Lewis can do it in that car, like we saw in Brazil, then surely Bottas can? Well, up until this point, I would’ve said that no, he can’t, but after Qatar? He absolutely can – with the right motivation. It’s a shame that a puncture ruined the rest of his race because he looked poised to take P3 but Bottas cannot catch a break can he?