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Ross Brawn praises Valtteri Bottas: He has taken the fight to Hamilton

Ross Brawn praises Valtteri Bottas: "He has taken the fight to Hamilton"

01-05-2019 12:18

Ross Brawn has praised the way Valtteri Bottas has approached this season so far after the Finn has won two of the opening four races and leads the championship. Mercedes have been extremely dominant so far this season and Brawn has praised the team and the way Bottas has bounced back after a poor 2018. 

"It’s never been done before," Brawn wrote in his post-Baku race review. "Four one-two finishes in the first four races of the year is an incredible result and it sets an incredible standard for this season.

"Congratulations therefore to Mercedes who are showing once again this year that they’re not prepared to rest on their laurels.

"And well done too to Valtteri Bottas, who has started the season in fine style, with two wins and two pole positions and definitely deserves to be leading the championship."

Brawn has acknowledged the pressure that Bottas has recently been under and how well the Finn has done so far. 

"Valtteri has managed to raise his game to fight against an extraordinary champion in Lewis Hamilton," Brawn continued. 

"I have seen for myself how a driver can suffer, consciously or not, from being in the same team as a truly great champion and Lewis is one of the greatest we have seen.

"It can be incredibly intimidating and cause a driver to fall below their true ability. Getting out of that mindset can be difficult and takes a lot of effort, especially on the mental side.

"Valtteri has managed it and he has shown grit and determination in the first four races and especially in the way he has taken the fight to Lewis in qualifying has been really impressive."