F1 News, Reports and Race Results

The simple reason why Hamilton wants Bottas to stay on

There's a compelling reason why Lewis Hamilton wants Valtteri Bottas to remain at Mercedes next year, according to former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer.

Despite collecting his first three career wins last year, the Finn has mostly played second fiddle o his four-time world champion team mate.

And according to former Renault F1 driver turned pundit Jolyon Palmer, that's exactly how Hamilton wants to keep things in the future.

"I think he’ll be very happy with it," Palmer explained on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It’s a very similar situation to what we’ve got at Ferrari where Sebastian Vettel is kind of the No 1 driver, whether officially or not, and he’s voiced his support for Kimi Raikkonen to stay there.

"When you have a situation like this in the team, you have one guy that is the No 1 then they don’t want the second guy to be as quick, it’s natural.

"He’s a competitor and he can also be helpful in a title run-in."

While Bottas' future at the Silver Arrows outfit is uncertain beyond this season, Lewis Hamilton is expected to extend his lavish multi-year contract with Mercedes any day now.

"Both Hamilton and Bottas are out of contract at the end of the year but I don’t think Lewis will be worried about it one bit because he can go anywhere he wants," said palmer.

"And I’m sure if Mercedes are quick and he has the desire to keep going then he’ll stay.

"To be honest, he probably won’t mind who his team-mate is because he’s four-time World Champion, could be five at the end of this year.

"He’s got a lot of confidence, a lot of natural talent and in the end for him it doesn’t matter."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Alpine double-podium in Brazil could deliver $30 million windfall

Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…

10 hours ago

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

11 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

13 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

14 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

16 hours ago

Mercedes fined for starting grid tyre pressure infringement

The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…

17 hours ago