Valtteri Bottas 2019 F1 driver ratings: Every grand prix reviewed

Valtteri Bottas 2019 ratings Part 3

Singapore GP (Qual: 5th – Race: 5th) 6/10

Bottas and Mercedes were the absolute opposite of Ferrari in Singapore. Whilst Ferrari inadvertently swapped their drivers during the pit window and left them in that new order, Mercedes ordered Bottas to relinquish the advantage he’d earned by undercutting. Bottas duly obliged, and finished behind title rival Hamilton because of it.

Russian GP (Qual: 5th – Race: 2nd) 7/10

What happened to Bottas 2.0? He grew a beard and looked to be a challenger to Hamilton. Now he’s being outclassed and finding himself unable to close any gap. Perhaps the effort has gone into his defending abilities, which were on point in Russia, and allowed Mercedes to secure a surprise 1-2.

Japanese GP (Qual: 3rd - Race: 1st) 9/10

Victory for Bottas was founded in beating Hamilton in qualifying for the first time in five races and then timing his launch to absolute perfection. It appeared that Bottas might have even reacted to Vettel's jump , rather than the lights, but it allowed him to sweep past and take a lead that he never looked like relinquishing. The first F1 victory from the second row of the grid was secured with the crushing consistency that Hamilton and Vettel are more associated with and proved that Bottas can lift his game after the summer break.

Mexican GP (Qual: 6th - Race: 3rd) 8/10

A sizable shunt in qualifying had ramifications for the weekend beyond the Finn's efforts, but his response was typically measured and calm. Bottas might now need snookers in the title race with Hamilton, but extending the race another week deserves credit and without the cooling problems, he might have actually had the underlying pace to win this race.

United States GP (Qual: 1st - Race: 1st) 10/10

A flawless performance from the Finn, who has enough strong performances from 2019 to build upon for 2020. Consistency will naturally be key against the metronomic brutality of a title fight with Hamilton, but victories at Suzuka and now COTA, tracks where the driver makes a bigger difference than most show that Bottas is approaching the peak of his own powers. Bottas' visible frustration at seeing the championship officially taken out of his hands suggests the fire is there to go again in 2020.

Brazilian GP (Qual: 5th - Race: DNF) 4/10

Bottas' engine blowout kick-started the bedlam at Interlagos, with his failure perhaps the result of spending so many laps in the boiling air spilling of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari as fresher, grippier tyres and DRS were not enough of an aid to get by the Monegasque. Even with Ferrari's straight-line prowess, it wasn't a great look for the Finn.

Abu Dhabi GP (Qual: 2nd - Race: 4th) 7/10

With a second fresh engine of the weekend fitted, Bottas was allowed to progress all the way through qualifying, despite knowing he would start at the back of the grid. The Finn certainly put his fresh PU to good use from P20, slicing through the field early on, despite the lack of DRS. Had those early overtakes been made a little easier, perhaps he would have had enough time in hand to pass Leclerc at the end of the race, but a 15th podium of the year signs off his most successful F1 season to date.

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