Valtteri Bottas knows a thing or two about being a number two driver, having spent five years alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Now, he’s encouraging Sergio Perez to have faith in his own abilities as he contends with being Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull. Perez has found it difficult to match Verstappen’s results, but Bottas believes that’s no reason to lose confidence. Perez must focus on doing the best he can, just as Bottas did during his time at Mercedes.
While Bottas may have been outpaced by Hamilton on a regular basis, he never let it affect his confidence or determination to perform at his best. Even though he was considered the number two driver at Mercedes, he always approached each race with the belief that he could beat anyone on a given day. This is a message he’s now passing on to Sergio Perez as the Mexican driver comes to terms with his own situation at Red Bull. It’s clear that Bottas has taken his experience with Hamilton and applied it to his advice for Perez.
In Bottas’ view, it’s essential for a driver to have self-confidence and belief in their own abilities if they want to succeed in F1. Without that self-assurance, a driver can quickly find themselves in a downward spiral and unable to match the results of their teammate. He believes this is the case with Sergio Perez, whose lack of trust in himself is reflected in his lacklustre results when compared to Max Verstappen. Bottas believes that Perez must work on his self-confidence and remind himself that he is a capable driver in order to break out of his current rut.
