Bottas responds to ‘career-killing’ comment

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Valtteri Bottas has refused to rise to the bait after being warned that teaming up with Lewis Hamilton could be a career-ender.

This season Hamilton will have a new team-mate at Mercedes after 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg retired and was replaced by former Williams driver Bottas.

The move, though, could prove to be a difficult one for the Finn, at least that is according to Hamilton’s father, Anthony.

“Anybody who goes up against Lewis needs to have planned their career correctly because it could be a career-ending move when you go up against Lewis,” Hamilton Snr told Sky Sports News HQ.

He later told Newsweek that becoming Hamilton’s team-mate is a “career killer. Lewis kills drivers.”

Bottas, though, is anything but afraid.

In fact speaking to Finnish broadcaster MTV Sport, he warned that if there was anyone he didn’t want to have to go up against, it would be himself.

“Well, I would never want to be my team-mate either,” he said.

“Let’s see. The season will start soon and we’ll see where we go.”