Is There More to Valtteri Bottas’ Black Overalls Mercedes Rant?
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Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes share a symbiotic relationship. You can’t think about one without talking about the other. Lewis Hamilton has won 5 world championship titles with the Silver Arrows, who in turn have managed to provide him with Championship winning cars whilst claiming the last 6 Constructors’ champion titles for themselves. One could think of them as almost inseparable. Amidst all that, there is one Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton’s teammate for the last 4 years now.
While Bottas really is a very good driver, he’s not Hamilton. Mercedes don’t say it, but he is virtually their number 2, full stop. Ever since he joined the Brackley-based outfit, he has managed to push Hamilton but has never quite won too many plaudits himself. Despite signing a new contract, he may be getting the feeling that he isn’t quite racing for Mercedes, but Lewis Hamilton’s F1 team. Take, for example, the fact that Bottas was livid with the black overalls, something that came about after Lewis’s stance on world events. This is an opinion that is also shared by former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer.
Displeasure shown by Valtteri Bottas in Spain over livery color indicates he is the third wheel between Hamilton and Mercedes
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The former Renault F1 driver Palmer opined, “We heard the radio message where he was saying these black overalls are so hot an uncomfortable, while he was saying that, Hamilton was just driving away in the distance. There is a sort of feeling that this is more and more Hamilton’s team. (With) what Mercedes have particularly done to back up Hamilton’s claims on his races and stance, Bottas has (just) gone with Mercedes and Hamilton on that.
“Maybe he’s just starting to feel, subconsciously, like this is the Lewis Hamilton show. As he’s watching Hamilton disappear into the distance, maybe there’s a subconscious feeling that this is not alright now.”
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It is definitely a bit hard on Bottas. But in the end, one must say that he signed up for this after all. Coming into the team, he knew that he’d most definitely be overshadowed by this modern-day legend. He took it up as a challenge, but truth be told, he wasn’t able to deliver as well as Nico Rosberg did in 2016.
Besides, the fact that he gets the chance to race for the best team on the grid, isn’t an opportunity that he wants to walk away from, signing a contract extension for 2021 is a testament to that. So Bottas may just well have to continue like that, he’d have to have an absolutely flawless season to get a bigger say in the team but even then it’d only be one title to Lewis 6 (quite possibly 7).