Bottas honest: 'Over a whole season, I couldn't do that'

Valtteri Bottas is warning the Formula 1 grid about Lewis Hamilton. Losing the title in 2021 would have sparked new fire in the seven-time world champion.

Bottas could never beat Hamilton in his time at Mercedes. This he admits in conversation with The Race: "Sometimes I could, but on a season average, I couldn’t." Bottas looks back on his time with Hamilton as a teammate with satisfaction. According to the Finn you always end up meeting a driver who is better than you are. In the period that Bottas and Hamilton were teammates, the Finn won ten Grands Prix, while Hamilton crossed the finish line first no less than fifty times.

Hamilton lost his eighth world title in 2021 to Max Verstappen in the very last round of the season, and Bottas believes the Briton will come back stronger than ever as a result. "He’s going to be pretty strong and he’s going to have the fire inside him – so, beware!"

Bottas himself had to leave Mercedes after five years of loyal service. The Finn decided to continue his Formula One career at Alfa Romeo in 2022 which unveiled its new livery on Sunday. He hopes to make the step towards the top of the midfield with that team. His replacement at Mercedes is George Russell.