Bottas helped Hamilton improve in 2019

Poor Valtteri Bottas didn't even know he helped to beat himself according to motor-mouth Jacques Villeneuve

(GMM) Jacques Villeneuve thinks Valtteri Bottas deserves to be regarded as one of the best drivers in Formula 1.

Actually, the Finn is often regarded as a comfortable Mercedes teammate for six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

But Villeneuve, F1's outspoken 1997 world champion, thinks Bottas actually helped Hamilton to become an even better driver last year.

"In previous years, Lewis would be out of shape in two or three races, but in 2019 he raised the bar very high," the French Canadian told Auto Plus.

"Part of that is that Bottas was more aggressive and did not let him relax.

"He (Bottas) proved that he is a very fast driver, but getting ahead of Hamilton is not easy.

"Many people think Bottas does not deserve his place at Mercedes because he is behind Lewis, but he could be ahead of many other drivers. Lewis is one of the great drivers," Villeneuve added.