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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 10: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes talks with Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Alfa Romeo F1 during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on March 10, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
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BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – MARCH 10: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes talks with Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Alfa Romeo F1 during Day One of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on March 10, 2022 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
The pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas was the one to be feared for five straight years. Driving undoubtedly the most powerful cars on the grid, the duo was in a competition of its own for glory. But the Finn couldn’t challenge his teammate much, as the stats of their time at Mercedes reveal the whole story, and indeed, it isn’t a pleasant one for the current Alfa Romeo driver.
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During their time together, the Briton finished with 78 podium finishes, 50 victories, 42 pole positions, and four titles. In contrast, Valtteri Bottas had 58 podium finishes, 20 pole positions, and 10 victories, but was outscored by Hamilton by 591.5 points. For an F1 driver, it could be hard to play second and accept that your teammate is better than you. And as was the case with Valtteri Bottas, who talks about how difficult it was for him to accept Hamilton as the better driver.
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Formula One F1- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – December 4, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates qualifying in pole position with teammate Valtteri Bottas who qualified second Pool via REUTERS/Giuseppe Cacace
Both drivers had great synergy during their time together. Lewis Hamilton even called Bottas his favorite teammate. However, that didn’t make things any easier for Bottas. Speaking about accepting Hamilton as superior to him, Bottas was quoted by Motorsport Total as saying, “It was very difficult to accept. It probably happened in 2021 when I could admit that Lewis was faster. It took me five years to accept that. It’s frustrating because as a driver you want to be the best.”
In his first season away from his long-time partner, Bottas said that he had a great five years with Hamilton as his teammate and he felt that it had been an honor upon reflection. He also remarked that Hamilton was a living legend.
Valtteri Bottas speaks about Lewis Hamilton’s 2021 Abu Dhabi defeat
The grand finale of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi was a shock to Mercedes. Seeing Max Verstappen win the race on the last lap was something that the team, especially Lewis Hamilton, didn’t take well. But for Bottas, the emotions were mixed, as it was also his last race with the team. So, he was leaving the team at a strange time.
When asked about how things were in the team after the defeat, Bottas, on an episode of Beyond the Grid, quipped, “Just big, big disappointment for everybody and it took a while to recover for everyone in the team. It wasn’t my greatest memory. It was probably the best time to leave!”
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Since his departure, the driver has remained close to his former aides in the Silver Arrows. Truly, he became a solid part of the team during their generational run in the last decade.