Lewis Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas shares his thoughts on 7x F1 champion’s Ferrari move

Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has shared his views on his ex-teammate Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 F1 season.

The seven-time world champion recently shocked the entire F1 fanbase after his move from Mercedes to Ferrari was confirmed for 2025. The Brit will be parting ways with the team where he won six of his seven titles. Bottas was Hamilton's teammate when Mercedes was dominating the sport.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Bottas initially stated that he was quite surprised with the timing of the announcement. However, he added how these kinds of moves do happen in F1. The Sauber driver was happy for Hamilton, saying that the latter would be eager to have a fresh start in Ferrari.

"I have to say I never actually thought about it that it could happen. For sure, in a certain way, a surprise. And also the timing, I think shook everybody. But that's Formula 1, things happen," he said.

"Eventually, all good things must come to an end. That means, new doors open and I'm happy for Lewis. He obviously made the decision himself. I'm sure he is keen for a fresh start. It's going to be interesting, and it will have some kind of impact on the driver market for 25', which could be quite interesting," Bottas added.

Valtteri Bottas feels Lewis Hamilton will perform great in Ferrari. He praised Hamilton's capability to deal with people and get the most out of the team and car.

"It will be, it's going to be a different experience for him. With all his experience in Formula 1, he has been always great with dealing people and getting the most out of the team. I'm positive that he is going to do a great job there, and should not have any issues getting used to the car," Bottas explained.

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Valtteri Bottas on how he eventually accepted Lewis Hamilton as a better driver

Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton shared the same team for five years between 2017 to 2021. While Bottas was considered a capable driver, he was never able to fight Hamilton for the title.

While on a Finnish talk show, Bottas admitted that at first, he felt that he could challenge his Mercedes teammate for a championship. However, in his last season with the team, Bottas finally admitted that the Brit was the better driver.

“For such a competitive nature, it was hard to accept. It was only in the last year that I could accept that Lewis Hamilton was a better driver. I always wondered how I could beat him and win the world championship. It was quite an exhausting five years. I wanted to win everything right away, and then when it didn’t happen, it was hard to accept,” he said via silverarrows.net.

While Bottas mostly finished second or third in the constructors' championship, Hamilton took home four world championships from 2017 to 2020.