Valtteri Bottas believes there’s “no reason” why Mercedes can’t challenge Red Bull in the 2024 Formula 1 season, but he admits it will be tough to beat the champions.
The Finn drove for the squad alongside Lewis Hamilton between 2017 and 2021, with the pair combining to extend Mercedes’ title run to an unprecedented eight in a row.
However, the German marque has been unable to replicate that success since F1’s return to ground effect cars in 2022, logging only one victory across the past two years.
Having concluded the most recent campaign without a win for the first time since 2011, Mercedes is bidding to reverse its fortunes with a revised concept on its W15 creation.
But while Bottas retains faith that his former team can get back on track, the current Sauber driver is wary that the competition faces an uphill task to usurp Red Bull.
The Milton-Keynes-based squad won a record-breaking 21 races out of a possible 22 last term, romping to the Constructors’ Championship with record rounds to spare.
“I think Mercedes can return to the top, they still have great people and as a team, they are also very strong,” Bottas told the newspaper The Daily Express last year.
“They have a good leader, two good points, so I see no reason not to believe. The most complicated thing for everyone today is to defeat Red Bull.
“Red Bull is going through a great moment, they have had a really good car this year and most likely, that has allowed them to start thinking about 2024 quite early.
“We all have in our hands the opportunity to make a really fast car. I see no reason to think that Mercedes won’t do it, but Red Bull is their only problem,” he added.
Although Hamilton remains without a victory since December 2021, Bottas also reserved praise for his ex-team-mate’s performances in 2023 with a troublesome W13 challenger.
The seven-time World Champion outscored George Russell in the sister Mercedes car by 59 points, spearheading Mercedes’ charge to second place in the Constructors’ standings.
“Without a doubt, Lewis has been very limited by the car this year, but that’s the way it is,” he added.
“He has scored many more points compared to his team-mate and has had a solid season, except for the last two races which were a little more complicated for him.”
Meanwhile, the Sauber-owned side, whom Bottas drives for and will run as Stake F1 Team over the next two seasons, is bidding to rebound from a below-par campaign.
The Hinwil-based squad slumped to ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship after amassing just 16 points in 22 rounds.
Why does he even care what Mercedes do? They sacked him. The guy is such a drip he’s still worrying more about what Hamilton does than about doing something himself to improve the woeful performance of his own team last year. And the clown thinks he’ll get a drive when Audi come in. They aren’t going to settle for a dope whose thoughts are elsewhere.
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