Why are we talking about Max in here?
anyhow Ryar is right that Lewis did not put in enough work with the new clutch rules. Nico kept getting better starts to take P1.
Lewis undestimated how critical that was. It was not the main reason Nico got more points but it contributed big time.
As for George vs Lewis.. i'm not worried. Every year since Lewis came to F1 there has been a target on his back. People want to see him fail or get beaten for some reason. Reminds me of Floyd Mayweather. As it was in the begining so shall it be in the end. Lewis is unlikely to be bettered in his career by a teammate. Im not talking points. Talking about being slower in qualy and race consistently and accepting he is slower. George is quick but he isnt peerless.
Latifi seemed closer nearing the end of the season. Charles was another one that seemed peerless. But sainz brought him down to earth.
George will race better than Bottas, but i suspect Bottas raw qually pace is about equal to George's or a tiny bit better.
What interests me is having 2 british drivers. The media will influence the atmosphere between the two as they will support George more naturally. Lewis may also need to hide his hand for the whole year too. It seemed he trusted Bottas more than anyone else to share info.