Valtteri Bottas said that he has learned a lot of things from Lewis Hamilton during their five years as teammates.
Valtteri Bottas took a seat next to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in the 2017 season after Nico Rosberg retired. Since then, Hamilton has won every single championship title in the years together with Bottas except the 2021 title.
From the next season though, Bottas will begin a new chapter with Alfa Romeo. George Russell will take up Bottas’ seat in the 2022 championship.
Reflecting on his tenure at the Silver Arrows, the Finn admitted that he has been particularly impressed by Hamilton’s ability to continually improve. “What has been really impressive [with Hamilton is] that, every year, he is still been able to develop,” Bottas said.
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“He’s got such a big experience from Formula 1, but still, he’s been able to always learn more and become better and better.”
“For sure, I’ve developed every year as a driver, but so has Lewis, and it doesn’t come automatically. He works for it because he knows that competition always gets tougher and tougher,” he further added.
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Lewis Hamilton does not get too comfortable
Lewis Hamilton has left a lasting impression on Valtteri Bottas in their five years together as teammates. Even though he could not win the drivers’ title, he wants to take the positive and cool things that he has achieved with the Mercedes team.
On his learnings from Hamilton, the Finnish racing driver said, “I’ve definitely learned many things from him, like driving-wise, setup-wise. Lots of small things here and there.”
“But yeah, it’s been impressive that he’s been able to still level up and not get too comfortable, ever. He always wants more out of himself and the team around him, so that’s been [the] same thing every year. He keeps getting better,” Bottas concluded.
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