“Valtteri & I Never…”: With the George Russell Tussle Heating Up, Lewis Hamilton Explains the Precious Value of Old Wingman Bottas

“It’s not easy being my teammate,” Lewis Hamilton once remarked. The British had shown this on numerous occasions, whether it was with Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, or his current teammate George Russell. It has been incredibly challenging for Hamilton’s colleagues to keep up with the seven-time winner since he has always chased excellence. Now that the time has rolled, Lewis Hamilton got a chance to reflect back and share his thoughts on the relationship with one of his ex-teammate.

Valtteri Bottas has been a great teammate to Lewis Hamilton and provided Mercedes with excellent support as they won five constructors’ titles. Although there may have been several internal disputes throughout his five years with the Silver Arrows, none of them reached the point where he might have missed out on playing a supporting role in Lewis’ success.

However, now it appears that our beloved Hamilton is missing his old wingman after fate chose to substitute George Russell for Valtteri Bottas. In a recent video posted by Mercedes’s official YouTube website, Hamilton could be seen responding to memorable events from his ten years working for the German manufacturer.

Hamilton was discovered picking a photo of him and Bottas from Brazil in 2021 as the video progressed. The 38-year-old expressed his opinion about how precious Bottas has been. He said, “Valtteri’s been he was just such a great teammate and colleague. And when I talk about teammates, I think, I don’t know if people really think about it, but. There’s like a conflict of interest here in our sport. It’s always a very, very delicate path to walk down and it’s very, very difficult to. It’s very easy to be on the wrong side and fall out or whatever. Valtteri and I never fell out. We always just spoke on things we he was very much just like I’ve gotta he’s gotta do a better job or I’ve gotta do a better job.”

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We have heard Hamilton saying how much he appreciates Bottas as a teammate. Besides, Hamilton wanted Bottas to stay with Mercedes for a long time. But the management included a much more enthusiastic driver who is passionate about winning championships, which is slowly converting into a tussle.

Raising tension between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

When Valtteri Bottas left Mercedes last year, Russell took his place. The 25-year-old’s start, however, was less than ideal because the W-13, weighing zero side-pods was far behind in terms of pace but still Russell passed Hamilton to finish at P4 in the driver’s standing with 35 point difference between the two.

When discussing this season, we have seen Hamilton being surpassed by the young British driver in all three qualifying sessions. Besides, Russell’s recent statements have also sparked rumors that there could be a potential tussle between the two drivers vying for the top spot on the podium.

As reported by Express, Russell recently made a statement that could put the two British drivers’ relationships in jeopardy. He said, “In those three years at Williams, I might have been able to compete a little further in front, but if I hadn’t driven a Mercedes, I wouldn’t have fought for the world title anyway.”

While concluding Russell said, “Ultimately I want to win titles and whether I’m fighting at the back of the field or for position seven, there’s no difference for me. All in all, I’m happy with how I stand now.”

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One thing is certain. The pressure of being a teammate of Lewis Hamilton is true and there are no two ways about it. Let’s hope that the teammate friction gets resolved and Hamilton gets back to his winning ways.