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“He keeps getting better” – Valtteri Bottas reflects on the last impressions that Lewis Hamilton has left on him

Samriddhi Jaiswal
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"The only thing in my mind was to win the Driver's Championship, and that didn't happen" - Valtteri Bottas has mixed feelings on switching to Alfa Romeo from Mercedes

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.

“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.

Also Read: Former Formula 1 chief says that Lewis Hamilton is not coming back next season

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.

Also Read: Red Bull would never swap Max Verstappen’s Drivers’ Title for the Constructors’ Championship

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal

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Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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