Bottas and Hamilton could have kept Verstappen behind them'

Nyck de Vries is critical of Valtteri Bottas, as were Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff earlier. The Dutchman saw a nice overtaking move by Max Verstappen, but thinks his countryman would not have had a chance if Bottas had defended better.

Verstappen had to work his way up from third place on the grid at the Mexican Grand Prix, but it wasn't difficult. Bottas moved to the right, giving Verstappen room on the racing line. According to De Vries, reserve driver for Mercedes, this was not the best action of Bottas.

''Verstappen made good use of the space on the left. Bottas didn't close the door hard enough. There was space and Max took his chance. He showed a lot of guts by braking so much later. As a racer, I can enjoy it immensely when such an action succeeds. If Valtteri hadn't moved towards Lewis they could have kept Max behind together. Then he would not have had a chance," says the Formula E driver at the NOS.

''I think Red Bull Racing is a bit stronger than Mercedes this year. Seven seasons Mercedes dominated, now the roles are reversed. Verstappen's team has it just a little bit better together now. That's the reality,'' De Vries concludes from the perspective of his German employer.