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What Bottas is lacking compared to Hamilton

Despite his attempts to play down his first half-season with Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas has settled in well - but while he's been capable of matching and beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton, there's one key area where the Finn finds himself behind

Elite sport is defined by small details. Top-tier athletes are therefore extremely self-critical, which is probably the reason Valtteri Bottas describes his first 11 races with Mercedes, which have exceeded most expectations, as "not a very good season so far - it's been OK".

Bottas says his 2017 has been a mix of "good moments, but also difficult races". He made this observation before the Hungarian Grand Prix, in which he beat team-mate Lewis Hamilton and extended his podium streak to five races. It took his seasonal tally to eight podiums from 11 races: two more than Hamilton, and the same as championship leader Sebastian Vettel. It meant he went into the summer break third in the standings, 33 points from the summit.

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