Lewis Hamilton: Valtteri Bottas exceeds Mercedes world champion in one statistic
LEWIS HAMILTON won his fourth Formula One world title, getting the better of team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton claims Mercedes 'raised the bar' to beat Vettel
Hamilton outperformed Bottas with more pole positions over the season - 10-2.
Hamilton also beat Bottas with more race wins - 8-2.
Bottas did come close to beating Hamilton in the number of podiums but the British driver still won - 11-10.
And Hamilton also set more fastest laps than Bottas over the season - 6-1.
But after seeing off Hamilton to win the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, Bottas can also say he trumped the world champion in one other statistic.
Valtteri Bottas raced the most laps in the top three
LAPS RACED IN THE TOP THREE, 2017:
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 30, 2017
BOT: 822 ??????
HAM: 794
VET: 777
RAI: 419
RIC: 399
VER: 264
OCO: 51
STR: 23
PER: 20
HUL: 12
MAG: 3
MAS: 3
PAL: 1#F1 #F1FastFact pic.twitter.com/08sq0KhzLv
Bottas raced 822 laps in the top three with Hamilton on 794 and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third on 777
According to Formula One’s official Twitter account, Bottas leads the standings for the number of laps raced while sitting in one of the top-three places during 2017.
Bottas raced 822 laps in the top three with Hamilton on 794 and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third on 777.
Those three were comfortably higher than fourth best Kimi Raikkonen, who raced in the top three for just 419 laps.
The Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are next best on 399 and 264 laps respectively.
Valtteri Bottas doesn't want to play second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton
Despite Hamilton’s superior season, Bottas says he is determined not to be viewed as the 'number two' driver at Mercedes.
"In a few occasions, not as many as I would have wanted, I managed to be ahead of him," Bottas told Sky Sports.
"Even though he is a really, really good driver and very consistent, I also need to believe in myself.
"I can't put myself in a place of number two otherwise I would rather stay at home."