When Lewis Hamilton claimed Valtteri Bottas to be his best teammate ever, many believed that it was only a matter of time before that changed.

Famously, the Briton had been close friends with Nico Rosberg, the pair having bonded in their early teens when competing against one another in karts.

As the two worked their way up the motorsport ladder the relationship continued, even when Rosberg followed his friend in to F1. However, once the Briton joined the German at Mercedes things soon began to deteriorate.

Over time the Briton sought not only to dominate his teammate on track but psychologically also, and as the clashes became literal the atmosphere within the team became more difficult and for the fans almost uncomfortable. Indeed, such was the animosity between the two many believe it was a contributory factor in Rosberg sensationally quitting F1 just days after winning the title.

Now paired with Valtteri Bottas, a hard, fast racer but with a reputation, much like countryman Kimi Raikkonen, for being laid back, Hamilton appeared happier, welcoming the Finn to the team and subsequently lauding him as his best ever teammate.

However, after four races, Bottas has one pole position to his credit and one win, and as the championship heads to Europe is just ten points behind the Briton.

Indeed, such was the conviction of the Finn's Sochi weekend those members of the (mainly) British media who had been calling on Mercedes to install team orders after Bahrain have suddenly been silenced.

With an eye on how Hamilton's relationship with Rosberg deteriorated once the German became a threat to his ambitions, Bottas fears a similarly bumpy ride.

"He's been in front of me. He's done a great job. I think we're working well as a team," he said, according to Autosport.

"It's going to be a long year with a lot of fighting with all these cars," he added. "At some point things might get a bit more tricky on track, and if and when it comes to the championship fight, it might be less talking and more fighting on track.

"Getting the first win is something special," he admitted. "You always believe in yourself because there's no point being here or doing this if you don't believe in your skill. If you think that you are not able to win then definitely you should stay home. But actually getting the confirmation and getting the result is important.

"Results are what matters in this world," he insists. "How many points you score, how many races you can win, how many times you be on the podium... that's the name of the game. And getting that first win, it definitely gives me confidence that I can do it even though I've always known I had the ability. Now it's done, I just want to do it again and again.

"It's going to be always a massive fight at least for the first half of the year," he concluded. "It's going to be a fight with four different drivers."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by CyberCatT109, 05/05/2017 3:27

"Ummmm . . . guys? Pretty sure Hamilton followed Nico to F1, not the other way around. Bit of a Freudian Slip, eh?"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by jcr, 03/05/2017 15:17

"As soon as they go wheel to wheel, and VAL. makes his mark, by hopefuly, not backing out,
Then We will see Hamis attitude to his best teammate.
Hami was never a team player and never will be."

Rating: Positive (4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Bottas: Less talking more fighting

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page