
Valtteri Bottas version two is certainly proving to be a substantial upgrade on last year's Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport driver. The Finnish ace currently leads the Formula One drivers' championship from his Silver Arrows teammate, and defending world champion, Lewis Hamilton, by a single point.
Valtteri has two wins to his name after his success in Baku, where he finished ahead of Lewis to make it a record one-two finish for the team in the opening four races of the season.
If you are unfamiliar with his story, Valtteri endured a torrid time in 2018. At the Azerbaijan GP last year, he suffered a puncture just a few laps from the end while he was leading the race. The 29-year-old eventually finished the season without a win and his confidence shot to pieces.
He spent the winter doing some much-needed soul searching, and returned this year making bold promises about his comeback. And so far, he is delivering.
So what has changed?
Apart from sporting a new beard, Valtteri is oozing in confidence like never before. Now in his third season with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team, he has grown into his role within and there is now a sense that he is comfortable having previously been drafted in to fill the void left by departing world champion, Nico Rosberg in 2016.
Valtteri is benefitting from a stable management structure in the team. Even though he has a new race engineer in Riccardo Musconi, he looked up the switch as a reset, as Tony Ross was moved across to the Silver Arrows' Formula E programme. He is also now believing in himself again, crucial for his self-esteem and driving ability.