Although Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are seemingly working together amicably, the 38-year-old still believes he had a better teammate previously. Hamilton appeared in a lie detector test last year when he revealed Valtteri Bottas as his favorite teammate.
Bottas joined Hamilton at Mercedes at the beginning of the 2017 season, after the Brit ended his turbulent relationship with former teammate Nico Rosberg. During their five years as teammates from 2017 to 2021, Hamilton comprehensively outperformed the Finn and won four world championships. Together, they also guided Mercedes to five constructors’ title wins.
Since Hamilton was always the number one driver at Mercedes ahead of Bottas, it is possible that it is this reason Hamilton chose Bottas as his best teammate ever. Bottas perhaps did not pose as much threat to Hamilton as compared to Russell, who beat the 38-year-old in his very first season as Mercedes in 2022.
Hamilton believes he shared “a real camaraderie” with Bottas
When asked about his favorite teammate of all time, Lewis Hamilton had no hesitation in stating Valtteri Bottas’ name despite currently being teammates with George Russell. Hamilton explained his reasoning by stating that he had “fun” with Bottas and that the two always shared “a real camaraderie“.
Hamilton then added, (as per Sky Sports), “But even though he wanted to beat me, there was just a respect that we always had. There were never any games between us“. The Briton then also added that the duo would travel together and that they built a really strong friendship.
On the other hand, Bottas shares a similar level of respect for Hamilton. Earlier this year, the Alfa Romeo driver appeared in a Beyond the Grid episode when he hailed the Briton for being “annoyingly talented“.
After praising Hamilton’s abilities, Bottas added that he continues to have a good relationship with the 38-year-old despite no longer being teammates. And the same can also be seen in the social media exchanges between the two drivers.
At the beginning of this season, Bottas put up a hilarious post on his Instagram handle, where he stated, “Find someone who looks at you the way Lewis looks at me“. In reply, Hamilton stated that he was just “admiring the mullet“.
How is George Russell’s relationship with Lewis Hamilton?
Following the conclusion of the 2022 season, Lewis Hamilton did admit that he faced some challenges with George Russell in their first campaign together. However, he believes that the two can overcome this tension as the current season progresses.
“I am a lot older and I have been with the team so long. So managing whatever challenges we come up with moving forward, we’ve been through so much that I don’t think it’s going to be a problem“, explained Hamilton in a conversation with Sky Sports F1.
On the other hand, Russell stated that it is easy for him to share a good relationship with Hamilton they are at different stages of their careers. In an interview with AutoHebdo (as quoted by gpfans.com), the 25-year-old explained that he has all the respect for Hamilton, who has “nothing left to prove” after his seven world championship wins.
Even though there have seemingly been a few moments of tension between the two lately, it seems that the duo are able to discuss and resolve matters quickly. It will now be interesting to see if the two can continue working together in harmony if Mercedes develop a championship winning car at some point.
