F1: 5 incidences that prove Valtteri Bottas has endured a tough season

There are drivers who win, there are drivers who lose, and then there are the likes of Valtteri Bottas.

You just don't know where to place them; for they have everything needed to win- speed, grit, tenacity, clinical mind- but no luck maybe.

One doesn't quite know how to sum up a season for a driver who's quite literally been among the fastest men on the grid but also among the unluckiest ones.

When is a race win coming is not only a question if you are a Bottas fan, but also a subject of intense scrutiny considering the Mercedes driver hasn't really driven too bad in particular to have endured the season he has.

Bottas trails Kimi Raikkonen by only a margin as slim as 9 points. That's an awfully tiny margin covering which he could jump onto third on the driver's standings for the current year with only two races to go.

Let's recount 5 incidences on Bottas' difficult year.

A winless year

This hasn't been his best year, has it? And yet, we find Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas running in fourth place as far as the drivers' standings are concerned.

At present, there are three drivers ahead of him, including Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, and the man on top, Lewis Hamilton.

But while only 50 points are available, Bottas would feel a little low considering that there's no chance at beating Vettel or his five-time world champion teammate, Hamilton.

Should he manage to overtake Kimi and end his rather ordinary year on a high, would that assuage a winless Bottas?

In a year where he's come close to winning multiple Grands Prix but hasn't quite managed to, things couldn't have looked worse.

Let's not forget the committed Mercedes driver managed not one but 3 wins in 2017- at Austria, Russia, and Abu Dhabi- has failed to stand on the top of the podium once this year.

Happy hunting next year, Valtteri!

An unlucky drive at Baku

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas’ teammate and now, the 2018 World Champion, won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

This win was crucial for Hamilton, not only because it obviously added to his tally of wins and thus, points, but also because never did it seem that Hamilton was in it for a win.

When the race resumed upon the safety car running into its out-lap, not for the first time, the order of the frontrunners read as follows: Bottas, Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen.

While Vettel would lock under heavy braking after trying to overtake Bottas, he'd be passed by the two Mercedes cars and then, by his own teammate.

Later on, Bottas who'd manage to hold onto the lead of the race would run over debris that was peppered everywhere. As a result, he'd sustain a puncture and would retire.

The end result? Hamilton would inherit the lead of the race and wouldn't relent.

Denied the race-win at Sochi, Russian Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix of Russia where Bottas was bereft of any smile

There's been something special about Sochi as far as Mercedes' Bottas is concerned.

He has been on the podium on multiple occasions at a belter of a track marked by extended straights and high-speed corners and in so doing, been fortunate in emerging clean despite being involved in a collision with Ferrari's Raikkonen in 2015.

It was here in 2017 that Bottas reigned supreme for the first time.

And it was here in 2018 where despite running in contention for another race win at a track he's utterly mastered that Bottas would be denied a win.

Why did that happen, we all know? Who can forget the sullen-looking Bottas on the podium, as the beholder of second place at Sochi, all thanks to being told to 'let Lewis through' in the final stages of the contest where he was running behind his teammate.

In solidifying Hamilton's race and the case for the drivers' championship, Bottas had to contend with the second-best place and would only manage to keep Vettel behind, thankfully for the team.

Austrian GP retirement

The Austrian Grand Prix would be remembered for many reasons, for starters it being the home race of the famous Red Bull Racing team, an outfit that finally managed to win at its home race, at Spielberg, thanks to a stellar show by Max Verstappen.

It would also be remembered for Kimi driving his only fastest lap of the season and for being a magnanimous battle between Vettel and Hamilton, one that was aced by the German.

Who can forget Vettel's pass on Hamilton just before the stiff right-hander?

Having said that, it wasn't the best race for Bottas who looked strong for a podium finish, before a mechanical problem in his Mercedes ruined his race and forced him into retirement.

Let's not forget, he was the pole sitter at a track whose beautiful layout, seeped in midst of Austrian wilderness attracts fans as much as it fascinates them.

Finally, on Lap 14, Bottas, who was running second after recovering from his bad start, would park his car by the side of the track to pull over in lines with an issue. Thus, one saw the following: another race, another disaster for the Finn.

Being called Hamilton's wingman

Take away the race wins, forget the podium finishes, what could be possibly worse for the Mercedes driver than to be called Lewis Hamilton's wingman?

Could there be a more hurting sentiment?

For someone who's put in six fastest laps, the most for any driver this season, luck hasn't really been on the side of Bottas isn't it?

While on the one hand having bagged 8 podiums might wipe the sadness off Bottas' face, can he possibly overcome the disturbing phenomenon of being called as Lewis' wingman by his team boss Toto Wolff?

Who wishes to be called that, one wonders?

Surely, the fortunes of his compatriot, Kimi Raikkonen, driving for Mercedes' biggest arch-rival, Ferrari, have been quite similar. But that the 'Iceman' kept his cool to win, first at the US Grand Prix and then nearly all but won at Monza speaks of his ability to have bounced back from a state of ignominy where nothing went right for him.

We've seen Raikkonen also suffer the blithe of being called Vettel's support driver but he's in a much better space, isn't he? What about Bottas, a man who was poised to clinch the contest at Sochi?