Valtteri Bottas claims it will be ‘turn 1’ when Lewis Hamilton shoulder pushes his former teammate during an interview with the Finnish media.
The 2022 season saw Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton parting ways after having a solid spell of five years. The Finnish race driver moved to Alfa Romeo to make room for George Russell at Mercedes.
Yet, this didn’t end the friendship between Hamilton and Bottas. On Friday, while giving an interview to the Finnish media, Hamilton interrupts his former teammate and shoulder pushes him.
In response, Bottas gives a hilarious response. He said, “This is going to be turn 1,” in reference to the Sunday’s race at Albert Park, Melbourne.
It would be funny if Mercedes and Alfa Romeo would be side by side at turn 1 of the first lap. But it is possible as the Silver Arrows are mightily struggling.
Also read: Lando Norris relieved to see ‘partner’ Mercedes knocked off their perch by Red Bull and Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton is not looking good in Melbourne
On Friday, while participating in the free practice sessions, Hamilton seemed to struggle against his rivals. In FP1, he finished P7, while in FP2, he landed on P13.
Thus, it is not a good sign for the current world champions in Australia. But it is not something which they didn’t foresee. Mercedes still struggles with the porpoising issue, killing their pace on the straights.
Moreover, Mercedes intended to upgrade their rear wing to a lower downforce this weekend. However, the last-minute update by them states that they wouldn’t be doing it this week.
Hence, the car is more or less similar to what they ran in Saudi Arabia. So, seeing the quality of Red Bull and Ferrari, it doesn’t seem Mercedes has a chance.
Who will win: Red Bull or Ferrari?
The current F1 trends only indicate that the weekend in Melbourne will only be between Ferrari and Red Bull. The two sides are likely to fight for the championship this year, and its intensity has been at the top since the first lap of the first race.
So, it would be essential for all four drivers of the two sides to capture the maximum points in Australia. It only remains to be seen who will conquer.
Also read: Lewis Hamilton confirms the arrival of Porsche and Audi in Formula 1
