Bottas must take his chances and try harder to win after Bahrain miss
▶ Unlike his attacking teammate Hamilton, Finn let Vettel have a comfortable ride home and settled for second place in his mind
Sometimes it is the little moments that define a Formula One career, or certainly how a driver is viewed as a whole.
It could be a stunning pass, a mistake, an impressive qualifying performance, or something else that at first glance seems like a simple incident, but when you scratch beneath the surface means so much more.
If you had offered Valtteri Bottas second place before the start of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix he would have most probably have taken it. Mercedes-GP had been off the pace of Ferrari in qualifying and he started third behind Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
Bottas finished behind Vettel, and beat his world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton fair and square, with the Briton completing the podium.
Hamilton had a five-place grid penalty and had started ninth, but Bottas had out-qualified him anyhow and matched him for pace in the race.
So why the impending sense of negativity, you may wonder. Second place is fine, right?
Wrong. Bottas should have won the race.
He was on fresher tyres at the end of the race and had reeled in Vettel at a rapid rate in the closing stages.
Vettel was on badly worn tyres, which had done more than 35 laps, and he conceded post-race they had been effectively done with 10 laps to go.
Some credit must go to Vettel. He did a great job of edging out enough life in his fast-deteriorating tyres.
It wasn’t until the final two laps that Bottas looked set to pounce, but that should have been more than enough time for the Finn to achieved an overtake. Bottas lost time by first out-braking himself and then when he did have a run on the German at the start of the final lap it was half-hearted; he never looked like he believed he could get ahead.
Winning races is a difficult business. So, when you do have a chance you have to seize it with both hands.
If it had been Hamilton attacking on that final lap Vettel would have been made to feel much more uncomfortable.
Maybe Bottas was wary of risking a collision or a mistake that would have cost him second.
He has already suffered one crash this season, in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where he could only finish eighth.
But following home a car on badly worn tyres is not a great look either, and sadly it is becoming increasingly apparent that Bottas is a very good driver, but not a great one.
His three wins last season all came after he had led from the start. None required daring or cunning or even a strategic change to achieve victory.
Bottas should have won Brazil in November, but again ended up stuck behind Vettel after a poor start and was unable to pass.
He won the final race of the 2017 campaign, the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but only Hamilton will know just how hard he actually pushed in the race to try and beat him.
Hamilton’s grinning demeanour post-race at the Yas Marina Circuit, given he had already wrapped up his fourth world title beforehand, hinted at the real answer, no matter what excuses he made about it being hard to pass.
The irony is Mercedes seemed content with the fact that Bottas was no match for Hamilton, the harmonious spirit in the team a far cry from the bitter acrimony that permeated Mercedes in the Hamilton-Rosberg years. But by not having a strong second driver capable of challenging for wins it could jeopardise Hamilton’s hopes of a fifth world title.
Hamilton was always going to struggle in Bahrain due to the grid penalty. But if Bottas had won the race he would have lost only three points, rather than 10, to Vettel in the championship race.
If Vettel does end up winning the title, and it is a small points gap that decides it, Hamilton and Mercedes will have cause to reflect on Bottas coming up short at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Bottas still has time to demonstrate he can challenge Hamilton and Vettel. But he needs to prove he can win through adversity, rather than just from the front.
Certainly Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon, reportedly under consideration to be Hamilton’s new teammate in 2019 if Bottas is not retained, will be monitoring Bottas’ performances for the remainder of the year closely.
This was not 2011, but the miss will sting similarly: with four major titles and a myriad of other victories since, McIlroy was primed for the final piece of the jigsaw.
But the part never fit. At 28, he will no doubt have other chances. Nonetheless, the feeling grows that he needs to capitalise on the next.
Spieth just short, but poised for several Masters wins
It felt like being back at Birkdale. Last summer, Spieth stormed to the Claret Jug. On Sunday, he seemed set for another mighty final-day effort to capture another major.
He had a Masters already, but not like this. This time, Spieth began nine shots back, yet by the 16th had climbed level. He exorcised his 12thhole demons.
Then his drive on 18 clunked a tree and he had to settle for a 64 – one shy of matching the Masters’ lowest 18-hole score. He finished third, two shots off Reed.
Hence, Spieth’s Augusta record now reads: T2, 1, T2, T11, 3. Only Jack Nicklaus has performed better in his first five Masters (a barely believable T-15, 1, T-2, 1, 1).
Nicklaus has an unrivalled six Green Jackets. Spieth may or may not make that mark, but one thing is certain: he is tailor-made for more successes there.
Tiger tracking, although there’s still some way to go
Tiger Woods was wary of the hype. He attempted to temper expectation.
Asked on Tuesday if a fifth Green Jacket would equate to the greatest comeback in sport, a fit and apparently firing Augusta favourite urged caution. “Let’s just slow down”, Woods said.
When all was said and done, he finished tied-32nd, never really challenging, never living up to his billing.
But, then, he should not have anyway. Woods was contesting his first Masters in three years. He was appearing in the seventh tournament of his comeback from spinal fusion surgery.
His game was not all there – uncharacteristically, his one-over total found root in poor iron play – and on Sunday he took 32 putts despite hitting 15 of 18 greens. Now ranked 88th in the world, Woods sits inside the top 100 for the first time since 2015.
He will rest up, mostly probably until the Wells Fargo Championship in three weeks’ time. With Woods, the puff and the pageantry remain. He needs afforded a little patience.
Fowler and Rahm lead fight to be next first-timer
To win a major is no small feat. That Nicklaus has 18 borders on absurd. Woods’ 14 is almost as unbelievable.
For all the talk of an almost four-year drought, McIlroy had four by age 25. In triumphing on Sunday, Reed became the ninth first-time winner in the past 10 majors.
Who will be the next? Fowler seems the natural progression, given his runner-up finish at Augusta.
He has eight top-fives in majors – only three players have more, with Lee Westwood the only still active. His closing birdie to sign off for 67 and increase the pressure on Reed behind him confirmed Fowler could soon join golf’s elite.
Crucially, he said he now knows what it takes to win one. “My next goal?” Fowler said post-round. “Win a major. We’re close.”
Jon Rahm will feel exactly the same. The Spaniard came home fourth in only his second Masters, and on pure talent alone, looks a lock for multiple majors. Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama and Alex Noren are not far behind either.