He trails the points leader by just thirteen points, yet Lewis Hamilton has endured a patchwork campaign to date, culminating in an indifferent weekend at Russia.
The Briton was firmly shaded by new teammate Valtteri Bottas at Sochi, who following an imperious getaway to lead into turn one, resisted Sebastian Vettel’s late race advances to claim his maiden victory, while the triple champion languished to fourth.
Lining up from the same position having struggled to nail the final sector on Saturday, a poor start and issues maintaining car temperature consigned Hamilton to a lonely afternoon, accentuated by Bottas’ storming drive around a circuit at which he excels, an opportunity the Finn didn’t squander.
“Just a very, very odd weekend”, concluded Hamilton, albeit satisfied that “we are ahead of the Ferraris”, appreciative of the fact that his teammate denied Vettel a further seven-point advantage.
His animated display over the radio throughout the race also reopens the debate around his ability to manage problems, often finding himself unable to outdrive issues as others are capable of.
A victory and pair of second places to complement Sunday’s result, plus two pole positions, is productive enough, even so, the 32-year-old hasn’t appeared at his optimal capacity at any point to date, and despite the ultimate outcomes, Bottas has been making inroads on the former at each event.
It’s only now the Finn has executed a precision weekend that Hamilton can be held to account, and though a large portion of this can be attributed to Ferrari’s resurgence, it must be pondered whether the Briton has either underestimated Bottas’ potential, or is, rather understandably, burned out from his rivalry with Nico Rosberg.
Any notion that Bottas will serve a defined subordinate role, which this writer surmised following Bahrain, has been dispelled by his victory, and the implementation of team orders at said event – imposed largely due to Bottas’ own issues, appears arbitrary and if Hamilton wasn’t already taking his competitiveness seriously, he must be now.
Equally fraught would be to dismiss the Finn’s pace at Russia as incidental. Even had Hamilton ran unhindered, it’s debatable whether he would have caught and passed him, thus it’s appropriate to now consider Bottas as a contender, which could pose dilemmas for Mercedes, unlike Ferrari where Vettel has established himself as the title nucleus.
Of consolation to Hamilton fans is that he remains well within sight of the points lead despite an underwhelming return, and if Bottas continues his rapid upswing – while creating intra-team tension, any off days might not be immediately lost to Ferrari and Vettel,
Hamilton’s ability to produce dogged turnarounds means he’ll be worth looking out for in a fortnight at Barcelona, with the impetus of needing to raise his game to stave off the Finn, which is when he is at his most potent.
What can’t be discounted is the toll battling with his former teammate for three consecutive seasons has taken, and if this has manifested in his performances to date, it has afforded Bottas and to an extent Ferrari the leverage required to capitalise until Hamilton rediscovers his touch.
In a season which many forecasted as a feit accompli for Hamilton to waltz to another title, it’s peculiar to be placing his credible efforts under the microscope, though it’s demanded of a three-time champion and a credit to his opponents for the realisation that the times do change, often when least anticipated, and the Briton must do likewise.
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