F1 | Mercedes, Hamilton: “I am grateful to Bottas for the help he gave me”

“The one mine and Valtteri's is there best partnership for respect and teamwork that has probably ever existed among drivers in Formula 1." Signed Lewis Hamilton. Music to the ears of Toto wolff, Team Principal of Mercedes. In fact, one could hardly hope for better words addressed from one teammate to another, a sign that the relationship between Hamilton and Bottas is a close-knit one.

It is not always easy to respect team hierarchies between two teammates. And at Mercedes they know something about it, mindful of the duels between Hamilton and Rosberg from a few years ago. Bottas instead immersed himself in the role, as evidenced by the Russian GP this year, where the Finn left the victory to Lewis with a view to the World Championship. Deserving the comparison with another close-knit couple in F1, that one Schumacher-Barrichello and Ferrari.

Hamilton spoke specifically about the Russian race, having Bottas climb to the top step of the podium to thank him, just as Schumacher did with Barrichello in Austria in 2002. “My goal is to win races by being the fastest – comments Lewis -. Having won because Valtteri let me pass was a horrible feeling for the whole team and therefore for him too. We both have a lot of respect for each other“. The Brit continued: “We both know how hard we work. We really work together. There have been times when I discovered something with the set-up and told him about it: I know I can talk to him and be open".

In addition to the race in Russia, a really difficult moment for Bottas was the Baku race at the beginning of the season, where the Finn was leading only to then retire with a puncture: “I think Baku was a hard blow for Valtteri. He deserved that victory and instead he had that tire problem. I'm very, very grateful to him as a teammate and for the help he gave me in realizing this incredible dream: a big, big thank you to him."