Lewis Hamilton has time and again named Valtteri Bottas to be his favorite F1 teammate. The wholesome duo shared immense respect for each other despite the intense pressures of being rivals within Mercedes. Bottas has explained the toxicity that came with being a Mercedes second driver to Hamilton, yet it did not affect their friendship in any form.
However, it was the same reason Bottas did not hesitate to make way for George Russell at Mercedes. Happier at Alfa Romeo, mullet-headed Bottas is chilling after a grueling four years at the Silver Arrows. And his former teammate has seemed to notice that.
Lewis Hamilton happy for Valtteri Bottas
Seeing his former teammate thrive outside the walls of Mercedes, Hamilton was glad. Prospering in his own way at Alfa Romeo, Bottas strutted around the Australian GP paddock in flip-flops. Explaining himself, he said, “As a rookie, I wouldn’t have come to the paddock with flip-flops and so on.”
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Not taking himself too seriously was key to this self-discovery. Having become a senior driver, Bottas has cracked the code of being yourself in the prim and proper world of F1. “you have to go through the system, you’re almost educated on how to behave, how to brand yourself, and so on, but then comes a point of ‘this is who I am, deal with it’.”
Lewis Hamilton is all for it. Excited, Hamilton exclaimed, “It’s great, I just saw Valtteri in flip flops right now with his tan lines around his socks, his sock line!” Acknowledging that his move out has caused this well-appreciated change, Hamilton agreed with Bottas. “It’s great to see him flourish and feeling more and more a part of himself and knowing where he wants to go.”
Hamilton himself has been fearless in expressing himself around the paddock, surely some of it must have rubbed off on his former teammate.
Bottas inspires Hamilton
Watching Bottas find himself and some semblance of freedom, Hamilton had a profound analysis of life as an F1 driver. “I think just for everyone, it’s a whole discovery process, isn’t it? Compartmentalizing and just making space for happiness away from the track.” Hamilton has been a pro at doing this himself.
With multiple side hustles off the track, Hamilton has aced the idea of a good work-life balance. Rationalizing that all 20 drivers on the grid are forced to work so hard, away from their families, they miss out on a lot of normal things.
With mental health slowly becoming the norm and the priority around the paddock, Bottas, and Hamilton are now, quite literally, the trendsetters of the F1 paddock.
