F1 News
Herbert on Bottas: "What he's going through is really horrible"
- GPblog.com
Valtteri Bottas plays a key role at Mercedes according to Johnny Herbert. The Finn consistently scores good points and doesn't create problems within Toto Wolff's team.
Bottas receives a lot of negative attention
According to many, Bottas' time at Mercedes is pretty much over. The Finn is unable to compete with his teammate Lewis Hamilton and on top of that, pupil George Russell has been waiting to take over Bottas' seat for some time.
However, Herbert sees Bottas as a driver who is exactly what the team needs at the moment. "What he gets is terrible actually, because he gets picked on from all sides, with people saying he's not doing well," Herbert said in conversation with Motorsport.com.
Criticism not justified according to Herbert
However, Herbert believes Bottas has put in some good performances, including a number of wins and an often fast qualifying. "But also when he drives further away he knows how to bring in the results for Mercedes. That's the points for the constructors' championship. He does that brilliantly," continued the three-time race winner.
For Herbert it's easy to explain that Bottas is the ideal Mercedes driver: "Does he cause problems within the team? No. Is he exactly what Toto wants? Yes. Is he what Lewis wants? Yes," Herbert concluded.