Bottas on what he will miss about Hamilton, Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas has shared the things that he will miss most about being a Mercedes driver when he leaves at the end of the season.

The Finn’s time with the German team is coming to an end with him heading to Alfa Romeo and being replaced by George Russell.

He may not have gotten himself involved in a title fight during his time there, but he has still enjoyed a huge amount of success, helping win the Constructors’ Championship each season and claiming nine race victories.

He says he’ll miss being a part of such success, as well as the people that he has enjoyed it with, including Lewis Hamilton.

“At Mercedes, obviously, many, many people I’ve become friends with, and we’ve spent so much time together in the last five years in the races and at the factory,” he said on the F1 Nation podcast when asked what he’ll miss.

“And of course, the memories I’ve built with the team – being able to be a part of four Constructors’ titles together, and hopefully a fifth one.

“The wins, the amount of podiums I’ve got with the team, all those [I] definitely will miss, and the same thing with Lewis. It’s been an absolute pleasure and a real honour working with Lewis, and we’ve been able to work as a team really nicely.

“We have good respect and he’s been an awesome team-mate, and I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve got no doubt he’s going to do well in the future as well.”

I’m immensely proud to have worked alongside @ValtteriBottas for the last 5 yrs. We’ve been part of a team that has delivered 4 Constructors’ Championships and we’ve motivated one another to keep pushing through the ups & downs. Thank you VB🙏🏾 let’s finish strong. pic.twitter.com/4YRJAhCzSN

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 6, 2021

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Bottas and Hamilton are the longest standing driver pairing on the grid having been team-mates since the Finn replaced Nico Rosberg at the start of the 2017 campaign.

Unlike the man he replaced, Bottas hasn’t had a serious falling out with Hamilton once, with the two never really clashing on or off track.

In fact, their relationship has been so good that he’d go as far as confidently calling the seven-time World Champion his friend.

“I can definitely say that we are friends,” he said.

“It’s really such a good respect both ways. Of course, we are racing each other, but we are very much a team.

“If you look at the past few years, name a better team. We’ve accomplished quite a bit.”

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