Massa hands out compliment: 'He's fast, technical and works very hard'

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez have been criticised for their race performances this season. Where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are fighting for the world championship, their teammates are often missing at the front of the field. Felipe Massa however has respect for Bottas and Pérez.

Bottas drove the first three years of his Formula 1 career at Williams, where Massa was his team mate. At the time, the Brazilian already saw what qualities the Finnish driver had in him. "He is an excellent driver", he commented in conversation with Motorsport.com comments. "He is fast, technical and works very hard. We always have to remember that a driver like him, even if he is excellent, is next to the best. It's very easy to say he's nobody, but Hamilton really is the best."

Massa then draws a comparison with Sergio Pérez who also has to work hard to keep up with his teammate. "The same thing happened with Pérez's arrival at Red Bull. He's a driver who has to take two or three tenths off Verstappen and be right there in the fight. It's logical that he has to keep his head up, maybe because he didn't expect to see what happens. When you're working with a guy who's top, you have to be calm in your head."

Successor to Bottas

George Russell 's name regularly comes up when talking about Bottas' successor. The Englishman is doing very well at Williams for the moment and would love to make the switch to Mercedes.