Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton hails ‘best teammate’ Valtteri Bottas after his move to Alfa Romeo gets confirmed

Ever since Valtteri Bottas replaced Nico Rosberg at Mercedes since 2017, he was never really a title contender. Yet he worked his way up brilliantly by playing the team game, season after season. Unlike Rosberg challenging Lewis Hamilton for the title in 2014 and 2016, Bottas only managed handful of wins against his name with Mercedes and kept providing Hamilton with the chance to be the sole focus in the driver’s standings. 

As Alfa Romeo announced on Monday that Valtteri Bottas shall be replacing the retired Kimi Raikkonen in the 2022 season, it seems Lewis Hamilton has to bid farewell to his ‘best Formula 1 teammate ever’. Moreover, with Bottas paving his way away from the Silver Arrows, young and energetic George Russell seems to be the clear choice for being Mercedes’ second driver in 2022. 

What was Opinionated by Team Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas moves to Alfa Romeo? 

“A new chapter in my racing career is opening,” Valtteri Bottas said as quoted by Stuff. “I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance.” 

Although he never hit the heights Rosberg did, his relationship with Hamilton was largely a positive one. This proved a welcome relief to Mercedes, after Hamilton and Rosberg fell out and openly feuded in their last two seasons together. 

“It has been a privilege and a great sporting challenge to work with Lewis, and the harmony in our relationship played a big part in the constructors’ championships we won,” Bottas said. 

“I would like to thank [head of motorsport] Toto [Wolff] and the team for the respect in how we took the decision together.” 

Having said that, even boss Toto Wolff praised the Finn driver for his efforts in helping the team secure four straight drivers’ and constructors’ titles since he joined. Wolff had little time to react when Rosberg stunned F1 by retiring days after his 2016 title, forcing Wolff to move fast to sign Bottas from Williams.

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