For the second season on the bounce Valtteri Bottas has jumped out to an early lead in the Drivers' Championship. The Finn won the Australian Grand Prix in the 2019 season in what he would have hoped would be tone-setting for the rest of the term.

Bottas maintained that form in the early stages of the campaign, only to wilt under the pressure of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The Brit has brilliantly fended off all attempts from the rest of the field over the last three seasons to knock him off the summit of the sport. His brilliance has resulted in three-straight crowns, which have left him only one title behind Michael Schumacher's record.

Winning the Drivers' Championship is a battle on two fronts for Bottas. First he has to conquer the mental aspect of beating his team-mate then he must out-perform the rest of the drivers on the circuit. It's not an easy feat and will be a huge test of his character in a potentially truncated season. However, former world champion Mika Hakkinen certainly believes that he is capable of breaking Hamilton's stranglehold of the sport, according to www.gpblog.com.

There will be value to be found when betting on the Finn to end Hamilton's run. Shopping around to find the optimum odds and information is vital for any punter, and www.superlenny.com provides a guide to find the best fit for the individual with areas such as bonuses and live betting considered in their reviews. Small pieces of knowledge can make the difference, especially when the margin of error can be split-seconds on the track, so getting the best value for money is pivotal.

Bottas knows he has no margin for error in the rest of the campaign, although the shorter season could play into his hands. Hamilton once again displayed his habit of not quite operating at the peak of his powers in the opening race of the season. The 35-year-old finished second behind Bottas in qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, and made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes during the race that knocked him off the podium. Those are rare and will not be commonplace during the term unless there are signs that Hamilton's skills are on the decline.

It's all the more important for Bottas to be clinical and capitalise. He did at the Red Bull Ring to claim the victory and the maximum 25 points as described by https://www.independent.co.uk. Now comes the hard task of building on that success. He along with Sebastian Vettel over the past three years have made the initial breakthrough, but have not been able to sustain that level throughout the season. The last person to successfully topple Hamilton - Nico Rosberg - had just enough points on the board to fend off the Brit's desperate attempt to beat him out in the final stretch.

Bottas has to get maximum points early to put the pressure back on his team-mate. The assault from Hamilton will come - but if the Finn has the strength of position and the mental fortitude of his predecessor at Mercedes then it's possible that he could be the next world champion when the chequered flag comes down at the end of the term. The momentum is with Bottas and he has to use it build that advantage that not even the brilliance of Hamilton can overcome.