Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were teammates at Mercedes between 2017 and 2021 and shared five memorable seasons together at the Silver Arrows. Mercedes won five consecutive constructors’ world championships with Bottas and Hamilton as drivers, and their on-track success transcended into their great relationship off the track.
Bottas and Hamilton were great friends, and the Briton has often labeled him as the best teammate ever. As a result, when the Finn decided to leave the Brackley camp for Alfa Romeo, fans were sad because one of the most favorite duos on the grid was breaking up.
However, even though Bottas is away from Hamilton in a different team and country, their friendship remains strong. Ahead of the 2023 F1 season opener, Bottas and Hamilton were part of the drivers’ parade like everyone else, but the former posted a picture on social media accounts of his former teammate looking at him, with the caption, ‘Find someone who looks t you the way Lewis looks at me.’
Fans were ecstatic to see the Alfa Romeo driver post about Hamilton on his account. There were some hilarious comments regarding their bromance in the comments section of Bottas’ posts!
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Bottas enjoying life after leaving Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes
Even though Bottas was fighting at the front of the grid on a weekly basis at Mercedes, he wasn’t quite the main man there. The majority of the spotlight and recognition went Hamilton’s way, and that was something Bottas didn’t like.
There were many times when Bottas had to sacrifice his race to help his seven-time world champion teammate, and even though he was forced to comply, he didn’t appreciate them. When Mercedes refused to offer him a multi-year deal in 2022, he joined Hinwil-based outfit Alfa Romeo.
Of course, Alfa Romeo isn’t as strong as Mercedes, and the most they can compete for over the course of a race weekend involves fighting for points. Despite that, Bottas admitted that he enjoys life at the Swiss team.
“I feel more relaxed is the future is a bit more solid for the years to come than what it was before,” the 33-year-old said as quoted by Planet F1.
Also read: Mercedes Reveal Why They Didn’t Listen to Lewis Hamilton- And It’s All Because of Fernando Alonso
Hamilton off to a horror start to the 2023 season
Hamilton was expecting the W14 to be much better than its predecessor, the W13 which he once called the worst car he ever had to drive in F1. Unfortunately for him, the W14 turned out to be just as bad, if not worse in the opening round this season.
In terms of race pace, Mercedes had to fourth fastest car which is a step down from 2022. Hamilton finished P5 in the Bahrain GP, and admits that they need to work a lot harder if they are to stand a chance of competing for race wins this season.
