Lewis Hamilton lavishes praise on former F1 teammate – but which one?
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Hamilton and Bottas dominated F1 between 2017 and 2021, remaining undefeated in the constructors’ championship despite tight battles with Ferrari and Red Bull.Bottas was drafted in as a late replacement for Nico Rosberg, who called time on his F1 career in sensational fashion following his title triumph over Hamilton in 2016.Why have Mercedes & Red Bull dominated F1 so much?Video of Why have Mercedes & Red Bull dominated F1 so much?While Bottas was quick on his day, Hamilton maintained a clear advantage over him over their time together with the Finn never mounting a season-long title charge. The partnership was likened to Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello – one star driver and another capable of winning when required or ensuring the team remained on top in the constructors’.Speaking about Bottas and the time they spent together as teammates, Hamilton explained why the partnership worked so well.“Valtteri was such a great teammate and colleague,” he said. “When I talk about teammates… if people think about it, there is a conflict of interest in our sport.”There are two championships – a team championship and a drivers’ championship. Our job is to score the most points collectively for the team but, ultimately, you want to beat your teammate.Related Explained: Why James Vowles is banned from signing Mercedes engineers Petition to hand Lewis Hamilton 2021 F1 title reaches over 100,000 signatures
“So, there is always this internal rivalry and it’s always a delicate path to walk down. It’s easy to be on the wrong side, to fall out. Valtteri and I never fell out. We also spoke about things.”He was like: ‘He has got to do a better job, or I’ve got to do a better job’. We had amazing years together where he supported me, I supported him, and we still do. We travel to races together often throughout the year.”
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