Lewis Hamilton praises Valtteri Bottas’ no BS attitude

Lewis Hamilton appreciates the fact that there isn’t too much to talk about between him and stoic Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

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Hamilton and Bottas have been Mercedes team-mates since 2017, the Finn called up to replace Nico Rosberg after the German’s shock retirement following his 2016 championship victory.

To date, Bottas has failed to beat Hamilton to a title.

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While the Briton has claimed four Drivers’ Championship titles and 43 race wins during their time together, Bottas has yet to win a title and has nine grand prix wins.

Although Mercedes have insisted several times that both drivers have the same opportunities, the team has made calls – “Valtteri, it’s James…” – that say otherwise.

This has led pundits to state Bottas is “absolutely” what Lewis Hamilton wants as a team-mate.

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Bottas recently asked the Briton in a Mercedes video what he thinks is the “best thing about being my team-mate? No bulls***? Not too much chatting?”

Lewis Hamilton replied: “If you’re putting words in my mouth, then there’s no BS!

“I don’t think there’s one specific thing that’s better than the other. I think it’s a combination of many things and it’s a fact that there are no games between us.

“You’re a straight shooter. Because then it’s just down to our hard work. There are weekends we could do better, like in Austria [2020] for example, and we know we both just have to do a better job when the other comes out ahead on the weekend.”

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But while Hamilton and Bottas get on well, the same perhaps can no longer be said of Hamilton and George Russell.

Late last year, there was a lot of speculation from the media that Mercedes could end Bottas’ contract early, replacing the Finn with Russell.

The Williams driver made a one-off appearance for Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix and shone on his debut.

So much so that rumours emerged claiming Hamilton was no longer speaking to his compatriot.

Asked about the rumour by Austrian outlet oe24.com, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: “That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.

“My drivers are the least of my concerns at the moment, but I can imagine the competition between Lewis and George is fierce.

“The great ones sense when a good one is coming along and George is the next generation.”