Monday 31 July 2017 11:44, UK
Lewis Hamilton may have underestimated the threat from new team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the 2017 F1 season, according to this week's F1 Report.
After winning the Austrian GP on Sunday, Bottas is now closer to Hamilton in the standings than Hamilton is to the title-leading Vettel. For a driver who only reached the podium once in 2016, Bottas' emergence as a genuine title contender constitutes a dramatic upgrade.
"He has risen to the challenge really well," Kevin Eason, formerly The Times F1 Correspondent, told this week's edition of the F1 Report. "I've been impressed - he's only nine races in with a new team and driving at the top level, which is completely different to driving for tenth. This is hard-core pressure and he's done really well."
A concurring Chris Medland added: "I think Lewis might have underestimated him slightly. Lewis has got to look at Valtteri's improvement rate. This is a guy who will give him trouble as the year goes on - and maybe it won't be as plain sailing as it has been so far."
And has Valtteri already done enough to earn a new contract with Mercedes for 2018?
"We don't know what's down the road but l would be surprised if they don't give him another year," responded Eason. "It was so important for Lewis that he won on Sunday because if Sebastian had won it would have been another few points behind."
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"We are at a pivotal stage of the year with the last couple of races before the summer break," argued Eason. "By the time we get there, I think Toto Wolff will have made his mind up: either we're all for Valtteri or we are all for Lewis.
"But because Ferrari are a one-man team, they are going to have to think about it. It's a great shame but I can't see any way out of it."
