Valtteri Bottas is learning fast but Lewis Hamilton’s new Mercedes teammate will only really find out what he is up against when the Formula One season starts in Australia next week.
The 27-year-old Finn, who has stepped into the hot seat vacated by retired world champion Nico Rosberg, has yet to put a foot wrong.
He did more laps (628, equal to 2,923km) than anyone else in pre-season testing and drew early compliments from Hamilton, the man who drove Rosberg to the brink both mentally and physically last year.
“There are no games, there is complete transparency. I like that,” the triple world champion, who had already called Bottas a “nice guy”, told the formula1.com website this month when discussing the former Williams driver.
“I feel we already have a better working relationship than I ever had with any team mate I had before,” said Hamilton, who has previously paired with champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button as well as Rosberg and Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen.
“He wants to do the best thing that he can in his first year with the team — and with me being here for quite a while now, I want to deliver and make sure that I give as much information so that he will learn.”
Both drivers have equal status but Hamilton, winner of 10 of the 21 races in 2016 including the last four, is the championship favourite.
From his perspective, Bottas is there to score points and back up the team’s bid for a fourth straight constructors’ title.
The Briton has won 53 grands prix, more than any driver apart from seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher. On his day, as previous team mates will attest, he can be simply unbeatable.

HARD-WORKING
Hamilton is also no stranger to the psychological trickery, media manipulation and sheer single-mindedness that come with being a world champion.
Bottas, described by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff as “modest, humble and hard-working” when he joined from Williams in January, has yet to win a race.
But if the Finn, who has said he is “not here to be in second place”, proves as much of a rival for Hamilton as Rosberg then things could get very tasty indeed and the smiles will surely fade.
The championship is a long haul, but a Bottas victory in Australia would certainly liven things up.
“I would tell him don’t expect an easy ride, that’s for sure,” Rosberg, who raced against Hamilton from karts to Formula one, said when asked what advice he would give Bottas.
Former racer Martin Brundle said Hamilton would not underestimate his new team mate, who is undeniably quick, but was bound to feel good with the situation.
“Lewis must think ‘I’m in the best team, probably in the best car and my team mate has got all the learning to do of what it’s like to be under pressure’,” the Sky TV presenter told reporters.
Brundle recalled how that had felt in 1992 when he went from unsung Brabham to Benetton, a team expected to be on the podium.
“You can be in a midfield car and have three weekends on the missing list and nobody notices. You have one bad session when you are in a championship position and everybody notices. And Valtteri has not had that kind of pressure yet,” he said.
“If I was Lewis. I’d be thinking ‘I’ve got this one covered.”

Verstappen to push Ricciardo to the max
It takes some effort to wipe the smile off Daniel Ricciardo’s face but Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen will be hoping the breezy Australian has less to grin about this season.
The battle between two of Formula One’s most popular drivers will be a leading storyline of the new-look championship starting in Melbourne next week as they fight to be team top dog.
Even if Red Bull currently appear to be behind Ferrari and Mercedes on pace, both can expect to be jostling for podium places.
Verstappen, the youngest driver and race winner in the sport’s history, goes into his last teenage year with a burgeoning reputation as a fan favourite and with more records for the taking.
A demon overtaker, compared to the late Ayrton Senna after lighting up last year’s wet Brazilian Grand Prix, the 19-year-old is widely regarded as a champion in waiting.
“There is a buzz around him that is growing and growing,” team principal Christian Horner said during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
“You saw the people that turned out to see him at Spa last year....there is a national following behind him.
“But beyond that there is this raw talent. His potential is enormous and that is what is so exciting about him. He is so grounded.”
Ricciardo, the “Honey Badger” whose easy charm belies a ferocious determination and will to win, was best of the rest behind the Mercedes drivers in 2016 but faces a bigger challenge  this time.
His “shoey” celebration, drinking champagne from his sweaty shoe on the podium and urging others to partake, has become a post-race hit.
Ricciardo, who can count on strong home support for the opener, was the only driver other than the Mercedes pairing to qualify on pole position last year.
The Red Bull pair were also the only non-Mercedes drivers to win last year, but Verstappen’s arrival on the top step was more sensational – coming in his debut race for the team in Spain in May after switching from Toro Rosso.
As the season progressed, “Mad Max” added consistency to the mix. Verstappen was only once out of the top four in the last six races, but lost out 10-7 to Ricciardo in their 17 as team mates.
The Dutchman was only 8-7 behind on podium finishes, however.
“There was nothing between them over the second part of the year,” Horner told inews.co.uk.
“What’s going to be fascinating for us to see is how Max, being so young, continues to evolve and improve.
“Can Daniel go with him? Is there more left in the tank? Was that the top rung last year? You suspect they both have more evolution and it will be interesting to see the battle between the two of them this year.”