Hakkinen: "Djokovic and Federer had tennis, we got Bottas versus Hamilton!"
F1 News
Sport in Britain was booming on Sunday. The British Grand Prix kicked it all off before the Wimbledon final and the Cricket World Cup final started later in the day. Mika Hakkinen made this point in his weekly common as he looks forward to seeing his fellow countryman fight with Lewis Hamilton for the remainder of the season.
Valtteri Bottas now has a 39 point gap to negotiate as we get closer to the summer break. Hakkinen had plenty of praise for the Mercedes driver who came second in the British Grand Prix.
“It was impossible for Valtteri Bottas to be able to ride better at Silverstone. Grabbing Pole at 0.006 seconds, taking the lead in the GP itself and also defending that spot with hand and tooth while Lewis Hamilton is breathing down his neck," Hakkinen says in his weekly column.
“Three things did not work in Valtteri's favour: Having a two-stop strategy, an awkwardly falling safety car and a rock-solid shape of Lewis Hamilton for his home crowd. Nevertheless, Valtteri can bring more than enough positive points from England. His race could not have been better and neither could his qualification. The moment Bottas loses his place to Lewis and then takes it back shows how much he has grown as a driver."
During the opening five laps, the two Silver Arrows were in full attack mode. The rest of the field had dropped off, but Hamilton was right behind. At the exit of Luffield, Hamilton overtook Bottas with careful driving before Bottas got him back. Toto Wolff surely would have been worried, but the driving between the two was strong.
“The mutual respect was also clearly visible. There is hard fighting, but it remains neat and respectful. Racing board gas, but staying professional. On Sunday, tennis fans were served Djokovic and Federer, Formula 1 fans received Bottas and Hamilton. Two men from the top of their sport," Hakkinen continued.
“We will certainly see more fights between the two. 39 points is the difference between Lewis and Valtteri, but with 25 points per victory, there is still enough to be gained. You can be sure that Valtteri will push just as hard as on Silverstone!"