Any outside support Valtteri Bottas may be expecting ahead of the 2021 season won't come from former F1 driver Gerhard Berger who says the Finn "doesn't stand a chance" of beating Lewis Hamilton to the world title.
Since he started racing for Mercedes in 2017, Bottas has repeatedly set himself the same target: to beat his teammate at the Brackley squad.
While winning races and often giving Hamilton a run for his money, proving in the process that he is no slouch, Bottas' best efforts, supported by his annual bout of self-belief, have unfortunately perennially fallen short when it comes to ending the Briton's prevailing dominance.
And Berger sees no reason for that to change in the future.
"Lewis is absolutely world class. On top of his crazy speed and extreme talent, he also has experience," the former McLaren and Ferrari racer told F1-Insider.
"Bottas isn’t slow either, but in the end he doesn’t stand a chance against Hamilton. That’s how most drivers would feel."
The F1 veteran, a 10-time Grand Prix winner, says that beating Hamilton to the world crown is a tall order for any driver. But the Austrian nevertheless sees a specific trio of young talent that is up to the task.
"Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel in normal form. Otherwise, I don’t see anyone at this top level. But Lewis is still number one for me.
"They are great drivers, but Lewis is more competitive and complete at the moment. Hamilton knows how to read the race and every lap of his is faster than what his car is actually capable of.
"He feels his tyres as if they were his feet. That’s why he is always stronger during the crucial stages of a race.
"For example, he always has his tyres in order before and after a pit-stop, which makes him faster than the rest of the field. It’s fantastic to see, he is like Senna and Schumacher in that."
While Hamilton now sits in a league of his own in terms of outright race wins - 95 overall - and shares the same number of world titles as Michael Schumacher, the Briton isn't considered as the sport's all-time greatest in Berger's book.
"We’ve had Fangio, Prost, Michael Schumacher, Alonso, Vettel and others who have marked an era," said the 61-year-old.
"For me, Hamilton is right up there with them. But the best of all time for me remains Ayrton Senna."
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