Bottas seemed 'further away than in recent seasons'

Most of the Formula 1 season revolved around Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers remained close to each other in the world championship until the last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and could therefore of benefitted from the help of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

The Finn and Mexican struggled to keep up with their teammate at the start of the season, but as the year progressed they managed to outperform Hamilton and Verstappen. While Bottas had a strong season just after the summer break, Perez managed to be invaluable in the final races of the season.

At the Abu Dhabi GP, Perez held off rival Hamilton for a long time, with the Brit losing a lot of time to Verstappen. It helped the Dutchman clinch the world title at the end of the race. Despite Perez's action, Karun Chandhok says Bottas is still the stronger driver of the season, writing for Sky Sports.

"Valtteri finished third in the World Championship but, on the whole, he seemed further away from Hamilton than in recent seasons," the former Formula 1 driver told. "The reason he edged Sergio Perez into my top 10 was because there were more instances where he qualified in the top three and made himself a nuisance for the Red Bull strategists in the first stint of the race."