Valtteri Bottas believes Mercedes has maintained its competitive edge in Formula 1 but entered a noticeably more relaxed era following Lewis Hamilton’s departure.
The Finnish driver has returned to the German marque after a three-year absence, having left the team at the end of the 2021 season.
Bottas originally joined the Silver Arrows in 2017 to partner seven-time World Champion Hamilton following Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement.
During his five-year stint, he claimed 10 Grand Prix victories and played a key role in securing five consecutive Constructors’ Championships for Mercedes, with Hamilton winning four drivers’ titles in that period.
Toto Wolff replaced him with George Russell at the end of the dramatic 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi and went on to spend three years with Alfa Romeo, now Sauber.
Earlier this year, Bottas returned to Mercedes in a reserve driver role.
Appearing on the Beyond The Grid podcast, the 35-year-old was asked whether the atmosphere at Mercedes feels different without Hamilton as a central figure in the team.
“Yes and no,” he reflected. “In the end, the spirit is still the same — Toto is still not happy to finish second!”
“The winning mentality is still there, everyone is working as hard as they can, trying to solve issues, trying to get better – that hasn’t changed at all.
“But otherwise, losing a big figure such as Lewis, I think it has made some kind of difference.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling, but I think also there’s been this excitement of young Kimi [Antonelli], rookie driver, joining, George having a different role this year, being, let’s say, the lead driver or the more senior driver.
“Something is different, but I struggle to put it in words – maybe a bit chilled, in a way.”
Bottas reflects on transition to senior role at Mercedes
Having led Alfa Romeo alongside the younger Guanyu Zhou for three seasons, Bottas brings valuable experience in guiding a team with seniority.
Now back at Mercedes, he plays a mentoring role to rookie Kimi Antonelli as the Italian embarks on his debut season in F1.
When asked about the challenge of this transition, Bottas replied: “I didn’t find it difficult, actually; for me, it was quite natural.
“Once you have a rookie driver next to you, you know that he’s going to ask questions – he’s going to quite often copy your set-up.
“Especially initially in the season, the rookie driver will have much less confidence on the comments and the direction you want to go with the car set-up.
“And that’s when the more senior driver has maybe a bit more responsibility, in a way – to make sure that the changes you’re making and pushing for are actually going to the right direction versus the wrong direction.
“But I really enjoyed it, actually. That role just gives you a bit more… I don’t know, something — and especially if you make the right calls, if you are able to lead the team into the right direction and that brings better success, it’s super rewarding.”
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Good guy Bottas. I can imagine the atmosphere being a bit less intense without a WDC and Kimi still coming up to speed. George can be underappreciated I think, he’s fast and aggressive, but not a superstar yet.