Valtteri Bottas almost ‘walked away’ from F1 after Mercedes team orders to help Lewis Hamilton

Follow us on Google Discover

Valtteri Bottas says he initially planned to retire from F1 at the end of the 2018 season after he was forced to help Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas was leading the Russian Grand Prix, race 16 out of 21, when Mercedes strategist James Vowles instructed him to slow down and give up the lead to Hamilton. The British driver was fighting Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for the world championship.

Earlier in the year, at the German GP, Bottas was ordered not to attack Hamilton following a late safety car restart. And when the Finnish driver played a rear gunner role in Hungary by defending against the Ferraris, Toto Wolff called him a ‘sensational wingman’.

Which two F1 drivers do you want to see become teammates in the future? 🆚

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

Valtteri Bottas ‘decided to retire’ after 2018 Mercedes team orders

Writing in a column for the Players’ Tribune, Bottas admitted that he ‘badly’ wanted to disobey Mercedes, but ultimately understood his duties.

Hamilton ultimately won the title by 88 points, with Bottas finishing fifth. It was the only year he failed to win a single race for the Silver Arrows.

While Bottas has no ‘bad blood’ with Hamilton – they remain friends to this day – or Wolff, he was left ‘hating racing’. The plan was to retire before 2019.

“Sometimes, you are told by your bosses that it’s a team sport, and you should slow down and move aside.

• READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas pinpoints the moment he realised he ‘couldn’t beat’ Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

“Do you know how badly I wanted to just say no? But I had to be a good teammate. I let him through, and of course, he had an incredible season. He was the champion. I was ‘the wingman’.

“To this day, I have complicated feelings about it. I don’t know how to answer when people ask me about it, because Lewis is an incredible driver and a friend. I have no bad blood with Mercedes or Toto or anyone. But the whole situation almost made me walk away from the sport.

“I have to be honest… I was definitely depressed and burnt out. I hated racing. During that winter break before the 2019 season, I did not think that I was going to come back. That winter break, I made the decision that I was going to retire.”

Why did Valtteri Bottas keep racing after Mercedes controversy?

Bottas explained later in the column that he had an ‘epiphany’ while walking through a forest in his native Finland. He decided to start looking forward rather than ruing what might have been.

He had signed a contract extension with Mercedes in July 2018 and he decided to honour that deal. Bottas would take perhaps his most impressive win in F1 when the 2019 season kicked off in Australia, beating Hamilton by over 20 seconds.

• READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas names the Formula 1 team he was ‘quite happy’ to leave ahead of Cadillac return

He picked up a career-high four wins and 15 podiums that year, which saw him finish as runner-up to Hamilton.

Bottas continued racing for the team until the end of 2021, when Mercedes academy graduate George Russell took his seat. After three years at Alfa Romeo/Sauber, he returned to Brackley as a reserve driver.

The 36-year-old is now back on the F1 grid with newcomers Cadillac, who are still seeking their first point.