IGNITION

Is it last-chance saloon time for Valtteri Bottas?

For all the (justified) talk of Max Verstappen and Red Bull-honda finally being in the mix to challenge Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for the world championship, there is another man who desperately needs the momentum to swing in his direction this year.

This month’s cover star, Valtteri Bottas, has entered his fifth season driving for Formula 1’s best team. He readily admits to Stuart Codling in a revealing interview (see page 32) that such a team as Mercedes expects nothing less than a title from him to justify several years of gainful employment.

Bottas has come back from the brink of quitting altogether after a dreadful 2018 season, working tirelessly to reinvent himself and raise his game. Now he’s driving for his career, up against the best driver of this generation in the same machinery. No one can say Bottas runs away from a fight…

Valtteri feels 2020 was his best season in F1, personally, even though Hamilton cantered to a seventh championship. With Verstappen and Red Bull slow on the uptake, and Ferrari out of the picture for the first time since 2016, last season probably was Bottas’ best chance to win the title – in a Nico Rosberg-style 1-on-1 fight with Lewis.

With Verstappen and Red Bull now ascending, there’s greater risk that Bottas reverts to the 2018 ‘wingman’ status he so despised – unless he can find some way to better unlock performance from the W12 and get back on terms with Hamilton.

You sense Bottas is in no mood to compromise or play second fiddle again. He’s already been quicker to speak his mind and query his own team’s strategy calls while calling for more support from Mercedes’ top brass. With George Russell ready and waiting to take over, you get the sense Bottas senses it really is now or never.

The same is true for soon-to-depart Honda of course, and the giant strides made by the Japanese engine builder over the winter (see pages 54-60) mean Red Bull’s ‘sister team’ Alphatauri is also on the up. Pierre Gasly also explains to Alex Kalinauckas, in another exclusive interview, how the team formerly known as Toro Rosso has engineered the car in a specific way to better suit his driving style. Results have duly followed.

Results are less likely to be forthcoming for rookie Mick Schumacher this year, with team boss Guenther Steiner admitting to Oleg Karpov (see page 62) that Michael’s son will spend his first season in F1 learning in a “bad car”.

The equipment might not be up to much, but Schumacher Jr has already impressed Haas – which includes several engineers and mechanics who worked alongside Michael – with his diligent approach.

Mick will need to keep up the hard work, because he will know already, as they all do, that you can’t tread water for very long. In this game, it’s sink or swim.