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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen agreeing on something is very rare. The 2021 title contenders are like the two opposite ends of the spectrum of light. However, the two did agree on something recently and it was about Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate. As “little doll” Valtteri Bottas grabbed the limelight, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were left laughing. But how did it come to this?

What image do you get in your head when you think about an F1 driver’s childhood? Remember, a lot of them start karting well before the age of 10. Personally, we think of the drivers as kids to be Mario Kart characters. However, Valtteri Bottas was labeled as a little doll. During the latest episode of Grill the Grid, the drivers were presented with childhood images of the 2023 drivers and they had to guess who was who.

Childhood avatars of the greatest drivers

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In all honesty, all the pictures were super cute. Who would’ve thought that the greatest drivers in the world, who don’t even give an inch of space to their rivals, would look so cute and innocent in the images? The most hilarious moment was when Valtteri Bottas’ image came up. From the image itself, it was so clear that it was Bottas.

But before guessing, most of the drivers laughed hilariously at the image, including Verstappen and Hamilton.

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The resemblance between Bottas’ current facial structure to the image from childhood was uncanny. Even the haircut was similar. Max Verstappen said “Valtteri, very clear” and then proceeded to giggle at the image. Lewis Hamilton on the other hand straight away burst into laughter. Hamilton even agreed when the host advised how in the image, Bottas looks like the “sweetest little doll”. 

But that wasn’t all. All the drivers had their own inputs about the image as well. Let’s see what they said.

How did the drivers react to Valtteri Bottas’ childhood image?

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So the game worked in a way that the drivers had to guess all the images in 90 seconds. Valtteri Bottas himself ran out of time and was disappointed to know that he couldn’t guess his own image. Nico Hulkenberg, on the other hand, advised that it was obvious who it was and that he didn’t even need to say the name as he laughed away. Yuki Tsunoda suggested that he liked the picture as he guessed Botass’ name.

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Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez said that he’s still the same. Pierre Gasly pointed out how even the haircut is the same. The Frenchman then advised that the image looks like the current Bottas, just without the Mustache. The rest of the grid giggled and laughed as they guessed the obvious answer.

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Watch this Story: Lewis Hamilton Expresses Gratitude to Sebastian Vettel for Saving Him in “Brave” Fashion From Horrific Reality of F1

What did you make of this video? We were left in a similar state to the drivers. Especially after seeing Hamilton react to his former wingman’s photo. 

Written by

Pranay Bhagi

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Pranay Bhagi is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports, who has always been passionate about sports and writing. With a degree from a prestigious institute, he has channeled his enthusiasm into sports journalism, particularly F1, a sport that has captivated him for over a decade. Pranay's deep-rooted love for the sport began during the Sebastian Vettel era, and he has been following it religiously ever since.
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Vishav