Bottas is positive: 'He was in Hamilton's shadow'

Valtteri Bottas' move to Alfa Romeo has clearly done him good. The driver has become the leader of the Alfa Romeo team in recent months and team principal Frédéric Vasseur is very happy with that, he stressed in conversation with Motorsport.nextgen-auto.com.

"I don't want to make a comparison with Mercedes, because they have been champions for seven years in a row," Vasseur stated in the interview. "But he was still in Hamilton's shadow and I was convinced that he would be a very different man if he became the leader. I think he has gone in that direction."

The good performance comes as no surprise to him at all. Vasseur states that he has known Bottas for fifteen years and knows better than anyone what qualities the Finn has in him. The leading role seems to suit Bottas, with the talented Guanyu Zhou next to him.

The team boss hopes that Alfa Romeo's good performance will continue in the coming months, so that the team can grow. Vassseur hopes that it will attract more sponsors to the team and that podium finishes can be achieved in the future. Bottas has yet to go beyond fifth place in Imola.