It is an unspoken truth in F1 that teams prefer one driver over the other to prioritize results. While other teams choose to not admit to it, Mercedes openly practiced it during their dominant years. Lewis Hamilton was their clear choice over Valtteri Bottas when the Finn replaced Nico Rosberg. Would Bottas have accomplished more if the Silver Arrows didn’t share as cordial a relationship as they did with Hamilton? Fernando Alonso certainly thinks so.

Before Bottas’ arrival, Mercedes management found itself in murky waters. Hamilton and Rosberg did not get along well and often had on-track altercations. They even crashed into each other on a couple of occasions during their battles. After Rosberg’s retirement, the management had to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. Valtteri was the perfect man for the plan. He complied with the team’s orders during his 5-year tenure.

Fernando Alonso believes Valtteri Bottas was capable of winning the championship 5 times

Hamilton arrived at Mercedes in 2013 and instantly hit it off well with team boss Toto Wolff. Once the team started to deliver excellent cars starting from 2014, the Briton made the most of it by delivering race wins and championships. But how would have things panned out if the two didn’t share as cordial a relationship as they did?

Speaking with Marca recently, Alonso said, “Another one for us and for all the pilots. If he had had a problem at Mercedes in those years, Bottas could have five titles. Is that how it works.” [Translated using Google]

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Despite the team’s clear preference for the Stevenage man, Valtteri shared a great camaraderie with his partner. That was obviously not the case when Fernando shared the garage with Lewis during their time at McLaren. Hamilton was in his rookie year and the duo finished the season on the same points, losing out on the championship by just one.

Lewis Hamilton loves Valtteri’s new avatar

Ever since his departure from Mercedes, Bottas seemed to have eased a lot more than he was before. Owing to his Australian girlfriend’s influence, the Finn has started to sport a mullet and a mustache. Flaunting his newfound laid-back attitude, he showed up for a press conference in flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top.

Lewis, as quoted by Motorsportweek, reacted to his look by saying, “It’s great, I just saw Valtteri in flip flops right now with his tan lines around his socks, his sock line!”

“It’s great to see him flourish and feeling more and more a part of himself and knowing where he wants to go.”

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Do you think Bottas would have won 5 titles had Mercedes not prioritized Hamilton’s results over his?