Hope comes in many forms for a Grand Prix driver, even when your team mate is a five-time world champion named Lewis Hamilton.
After a 2018 campaign in which he failed to win a single race, while Hamilton raked in 11 wins, Valtteri Bottas knows that 2019 could be a year of living dangerously at Mercedes.
Team boss Toto Wolff has already told the Finn where he needs to be this year in order to retain a chance of staying at the Silver Arrows outfit for 2020. And Bottas himself has vowed to raise his game after last season's disappointing under-performance.
However, a curious Hamilton-linked statistic has popped up on our radar that offers a positive - albeit coincidental - outlook for Bottas.
Hamilton's first F1 team-mate - Fernando Alonso - was his team-mate for one season. His second F1 team-mate - Heikki Kovalainen - was his team-mate for two seasons.
His third F1 team-mate - Jenson Button - was his team-mate for three 3 season. And his fourth F1 team-mate - Nico Rosberg - was his team-mate for - you guessed it - four seasons!
The good news for Bottas is that the pattern puts him at Mercedes until the end of 2021.
The bad news is that it still leaves him with the most formidable opponent sitting on the other side of the Mercedes garage. Hang in there Val...
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