Karun Chandhok and Paul di Resta have clashed over their Valtteri Bottas opinions.
Valtteri Bottas has had a mixed season so far, and hasn’t performed up to the level expected from him. Chandhok and di Resta discussed the Finnish driver, and clashed over their opinions of him.
“While Bottas is very good in qualifying, he’s not when it comes to the races,” Chandhok told Sky Sports.
“Just look at that one Bahrain race that George did alongside him, George broke the DRS and drove away from him. I listen to ‘he’s apolitical’, and ‘it’s good for Lewis to have him there’, but I think you have to look at the bigger picture and the long term, and I’m sure that’s what they’re looking at.
“Russell and Lewis has got all the makings of Fernando and Lewis at McLaren in 2007. You can see the young pretender coming in against the established World Champion and some fireworks there, which frankly for all us on the sidelines could be quite good to watch!” he concluded.
Di Resta disagreed with Chandhok, saying that Bottas staying at Mercedes could be more beneficial than he thought.
“Lewis is going to probably be the most successful ever in Formula 1 for quite some time and Valtteri is a guy who 25 percent of the time can outqualify him,” di Resta said.
Stick or twist?
“When it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing on a Sunday, it’s very different. But when you look at how people succeed in sport, you generally need to have somebody at the top and somebody supporting them. Valtteri is playing that ideal support role for Lewis.
“Red Bull openly said when they re-signed Sergio Perez that they’ve done it to give them stability to fight for this championship. If Valtteri gets told he’s not in that car next season, how does he go and help fight for that championship for Lewis? What would be the problem with leaving George at Williams for another year?” he asked.
The clash of opinions between Chandhok and di Resta present interesting arguments for and against Bottas. Whatever it is, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him.
Read more: Alfa Romeo weighing up Hulkenberg to team up with Bottas for 2022