Hamilton and Mercedes salute Valtteri Bottas’s altruism
After the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff praised Valtteri Bottas after letting the Briton fly towards victory.
Last Sunday, during the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was forced to make a crazy comeback to win at home. The Briton’s mission was made easier, thanks to a Mercedes instruction given to Valtteri Bottas. The Finn was asked not to fight with his teammate and to let him pass since he had the pace to catch Charles Leclerc, who was leading.
After the race, the seven-time world champion wanted to thank his garage neighbor and emphasized the teamwork he had displayed during the Grand Prix.
« When leaving the pit lane after my stop, I wasn’t thinking about Charles (Leclerc). I was just trying to see if I could catch up with the car in front (Lando Norris), he admitted.
« I was following Valtteri and he was so kind to work as a teammate and let me pass so that I could race for the team’s victory. He has a great sportsmanship, I really appreciate it. I think I couldn’t have done it without Valtteri’s teamwork and the incredible efforts of the team.
In addition to playing the team strategy, Bottas played the role of an expert at the very beginning of the race. The Finn examined his teammate’s car during the Safety Car intervention to identify any damage on Lewis Hamilton’s car after his clash with Max Verstappen.
The executive director of the German team, Toto Wolff, made remarks similar to those of Hamilton towards his second driver. According to the Austrian, Bottas was the second fastest driver on the track this Sunday.
« He had a brilliant weekend as he could have been in pole position in my opinion if he had the slipstream on Friday evening (during qualifying) and this obviously had an impact on his performance.
He was very quick and drove a very solid race. But Lewis was coming behind him with the hard tire and was in a different dimension for all the other drivers on the track.
« But Valtteri had the second fastest car and helped Lewis find his way and Valtteri is just an excellent team member and an excellent driver with the right character and the right personality. », said Toto Wolff.
After the praises from his boss and teammate, this could be good news for Valtteri Bottas regarding the extension of his contract in 2022. Toto Wolff stated that the second seat will be between the Finn and George Russell, and a decision will be made during the summer.
