It’s different though. Zhou is a good driver, and by 26 will have sone experience, but mostly developing a middling F1 car at best.
Bottas is also good, perhaps has less potential as a driver given his age, but he’s experienced the development of some of the most dominant championship winning cars ever. Bottas has demonstrated great single lap pace in those cars, and knows what those last tenths feel like.
Not saying they should or will keep Bottas, but it’s not out of the question. Simple fact remains that he will need to beat his teammates during the coming years though.
Why is it easier to replace Zhou than Bottas?
Bottas is an experienced driver and proven product. If you wanted to benchmark a car’s performance you would choose his opinion over Zhou.
By 2026 so is Zhou.
It’s different though. Zhou is a good driver, and by 26 will have sone experience, but mostly developing a middling F1 car at best.
Bottas is also good, perhaps has less potential as a driver given his age, but he’s experienced the development of some of the most dominant championship winning cars ever. Bottas has demonstrated great single lap pace in those cars, and knows what those last tenths feel like.
Not saying they should or will keep Bottas, but it’s not out of the question. Simple fact remains that he will need to beat his teammates during the coming years though.
It will be a vastly different car in 2026, so I don’t think his experience will be as important anymore