Top 5 controversies of the 2018 F1 season

The 'Wingman'

Bottas had an ordinary run in 2018

One of the biggest surprises of the 2018 season was the form of Valtteri Bottas, the Mercedes driver clearly enduring what eventually became a forgettable season.

At one point in time, it did appear- from a fan perspective- that the Finn was perhaps in the contest to merely help Hamilton win.

For starters, Bottas contested a torrid season. Nothing can ever explain this more profoundly than the fact that he endured a winless run.

In 2018, there were more opportunities where he threw away the chance of securing a win than seen ever before.

As the Azerbaijan Grand Prix resumed racing, with the cars picking up pace having scaled down the speed owing to a stint with the safety car, Valtteri who was leading the Grand Prix ran over debris and suffered a tyre puncture. Tough luck. Wasn't it?

Another spoiled moment came at the US Grand Prix, where Bottas, who had already cracked under pressure to Vettel's commanding fight at Silverstone, would run wide at a corner on the late stages of the race, thus allowing the German to leapfrog ahead and take fourth place in the GP.

Under pressure at various intervals during the season, Bottas' role quickly receded from having been a competitive force at the start of the season into being 'second fiddle' to Hamilton.

For his inabilities to convert strong starts and promising qualifyings into race wins, the Finn became a subject of polarising social media debates and trolls.

The 'wingman' claim, made by F1 fans as seen on social media eventually came to haunt the driver's season.

Having said that, it is worth mentioning that not everything about Bottas or his efforts was completely in shambles. After all, the Mercedes driver set the record for securing the highest number of fastest laps in 2018, at seven.