F1: 5 incidences that prove Valtteri Bottas has endured a tough season

Being called Hamilton's wingman

F1 has become a spectre of team orders

Take away the race wins, forget the podium finishes, what could be possibly worse for the Mercedes driver than to be called Lewis Hamilton's wingman?

Could there be a more hurting sentiment?

For someone who's put in six fastest laps, the most for any driver this season, luck hasn't really been on the side of Bottas isn't it?

While on the one hand having bagged 8 podiums might wipe the sadness off Bottas' face, can he possibly overcome the disturbing phenomenon of being called as Lewis' wingman by his team boss Toto Wolff?

Who wishes to be called that, one wonders?

Surely, the fortunes of his compatriot, Kimi Raikkonen, driving for Mercedes' biggest arch-rival, Ferrari, have been quite similar. But that the 'Iceman' kept his cool to win, first at the US Grand Prix and then nearly all but won at Monza speaks of his ability to have bounced back from a state of ignominy where nothing went right for him.

We've seen Raikkonen also suffer the blithe of being called Vettel's support driver but he's in a much better space, isn't he? What about Bottas, a man who was poised to clinch the contest at Sochi?