Bottas finished twelfth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku last time and thus sixth in the drivers’ standings, even though he was in one of the more powerful cars in the starting field.
And Palmer believes the Finn doesn’t have the overtaking skills he needs to get the most out of his Mercedes.
“Bottas in wheel-to-wheel, every time you see it he’s really bad at wheel-to-wheel,” Palmer said on the Checkered Flag podcast.
“You put him in midfield with a bunch of cars around him, he won’t go forward. At best it will hold position, it will likely go backwards.
“Do you remember a good overtaking maneuver by Bottas? You have trouble thinking about overtaking maneuvers that Bottas makes. He’s in midfield and he stays in midfield. “
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton explains the misery at the Azerbaijan GP
Bottas’ poor return does not help his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who is currently in a classic rivalry with Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing.
The pair had won all five races of the season together prior to the Baku race, none of which scored points due to late mistakes.
But Hamilton, who is currently only four points behind the young Belgian-born Dutchman, doesn’t get much support from Bottas.
On the other hand, Verstappen’s Red Bull colleague Sergio Perez Hamilton made life difficult in Azerbaijan before he used a punctured tire by his top-class team-mate to win the Grand Prix himself.
That win put Perez in third place overall and the Mexican says there will be a lot more to come as he increasingly looks to help his team over the remainder of the season.
“The upward trend started in Monaco,” said Perez.
“We have worked a lot in the racing car factory and on the tracks over the past few weeks and months, and this work is now starting to pay off.
“The progress came on two levels: I understand the car better and the team understands better what I need in the set-up in order to be able to fully develop.
“I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t perform as well as I did in Baku in France and beyond.
“My self-confidence grows from race to race. There is a lot more to come!”
The next race on the calendar is the French Grand Prix, which will be held on Sunday, June 20 at 2 p.m. CET at the Paul Ricard Circuit near Marseille.
The post Formula 1 news: Valtteri Bottas’ form could harm Lewis Hamilton in Verstappen rivalry | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.
