Lewis Hamilton’s longest lasting teammate Valtteri Bottas claims his path back to Mercedes has ‘no burned bridges’
Valtteri Bottas has been Lewis Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes ever since Nico Rosberg retired from Formula 1 after attaining the 2016 F1 World Championship.
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Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas
Valtteri Bottas is the current driver for the Stake F1 Team and is a driver who has lasted the longest with Lewis as a teammate. With the news of Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari from 2025 onwards, the Finn has kept his options open for the commencing silly season.
The Finnish driver has 10 wins accredited to his name, which he acquired in his partnership with Mercedes during the 2017-21 seasons. Bottas had earlier claimed that Hamilton moving to the Scuderia was a move he couldn’t believe, and he has now left the option of rejoining with his previous employer open.
As far as I know, no burned bridges [about a potential return]. It's no lie, I was in Brackley the day before [Lewis Hamilton's announcement of leaving Mercedes] actually. Not at the Mercedes factory, but I was there doing some other stuff. No, we haven't spoken on the phone yet with Toto [Wolff, Mercedes team boss].Valtteri Bottas on being speculated to drive for Mercedes (via Motorsport.com).
Bottas is considered a driver on whom teams can rely and he is a solid driver, he has the record for most consecutive Q3 appearances in the history of F1. He was earlier thought to be with Sauber(now Stake) till they became Audi in 2026. However, with the change in F1’s landscape, a potential return to Mercedes may be on Bottas’s cards.
Why did Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes’s alliance break down?
Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 when the reigning world champion Nico Rosberg decided to retire after winning his first championship. He was considered Mercedes’s rear gunner as the team had faced a lot of trouble preventing Hamilton and Rosberg from tripping over each other.
Before joining the Brackley-based squad, Bottas was even approached by the prancing horses and was one of the fastest drivers in F1. After he arrived in the team, he was considered as a second driver to Hamilton and the infamous radio message “Valtteri, It’s James” was born.
Seeing his calibre getting wasted at the silver arrows and the hothead of George Russell arriving in Mercedes, he decided to jump ship to Alfa Romeo Sauber(now Stake F1 Team). The Finnish driver is now looking at the possibility of returning to his old team but with newly built confidence.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)