DAVID COULTHARD

Don’t ignore Bottas

Valtteri Bottas has put himself firmly in the championship hunt. While I feel that his five-place grid penalty takes away his chances here, Lewis Hamilton acknowledged to me this week not just the continued threat of Ferrari, but also the great job that Valtteri has been doing.

Lewis is not the type to hand out compliments lightly, he would not have done the same with Nico Rosberg, so that shows his respect for Bottas’s strengths. Valtteri is quietly going about his business, to the point where it is almost easy to overlook him. What is telling is that, once he started to have some success at Williams, he would seldom break into a smile. You had to drag it out of him. But be in no doubt, the passion and the hunger are there. You find out about drivers when they are given their opportunity, but at short notice Valtteri has handled his very well.

Consistency is all

Daniel Ricciardo is in the exceptional category as a driver. The exceptional guys can bring out the unexpected results. The one quality we are yet to see from Bottas, for example, is that of coming through from the back of the field against the odds and Daniel has had a run of five successive podiums, including the win in Baku.

Consistency is clearly there, and he recognises that he has a very fast team-mate in Max Verstappen. There is a considerable pressure within the team.

The Red Bull way of allowing them to be free spirits makes them one of the strongest pairings in the paddock.

Are they as strong as Hamilton and Bottas on the track?

Time will tell, but Max has captured all of Holland, while Daniel, forever happy and smiley, is a powerful character in his own right.