Formula One: Lewis Hamilton heaps praise on 'best F1 teammate' Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas will no longer be part of the Mercedes F1 team from the next season as the Finnish driver will be heading to Alfa Romeo having signed a multi-year contract. Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 season, replacing Nico Rosberg and since then the driver has helped the team win four consecutive F1 titles. Bottas has shared 51 podiums with Hamilton six more than the British driver shared with Rosberg – while the Finn has also won nine Grands Prix with the Mercedes F1. Following Bottas decision to leave Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton penned down a heartfelt message for his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton pens down a special message for Valtteri Bottas

Lewis Hamilton took to Twitter to express his feeling for his teammate in which he wrote,  “I'm immensely proud to have worked alongside Valtteri for the last five years. Together, we've been part of a team that has delivered four Constructors' Championships, and we've motivated one another to keep pushing through the ups and the downs."

He further said “He has been the best teammate I've had the pleasure of working with. Your speed and resilience have been impressive but where you truly stand out to me is the human being you are and [a] gentleman. You are greater than you know and I know there's a bright future ahead for you. Thank you, Valtteri for all of your support and amazing contributions to this team. You will be missed. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours, let's finish off strong and get that 8th [championship] for the team.”

Valtteri Bottas to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo 

The Italian team is yet to decide on the Alfa Romeo F1 Drivers for next season, despite signing Valtteri Bottas. The 32-year-old will replace Kimi Raikkonen who announced that he would leave the team, and retire at the end of the season. Ahead of the Dutch GP Raikkonen in his press conference said, "I had a good run. I'm happy with what I achieved. Obviously, you want to win, and it's not easy to win. I wanted to win a championship. I got close quite a few times and managed to win it with Ferrari, so happy that it happened, especially with them."