Hakkinen: Bottas has grown so much alongside Hamilton

Fellow countryman Mika Hakkinen saw the upside to Bottas being beaten by his teammate despite the #77 car starting from pole position at the British Grand Prix.

The double F1 World Champion argues that Bottas was on the wrong side of Lady Luck when she came calling at Silverstone but also believes that the driver toto Wolff branded the "best wingman in the world" is benefitting from sharing a garage with Hamilton.

In his review of the race, Hakkinen wrote in his Unibet column: "Valtteri has so much positive to take away from Silverstone. He could not have qualified and raced better, but when you have a two-stop strategy and your teammate is able to run a single-stop. Then make the stop during a Safety Car period which gifts you about 10 seconds of advantage - that makes the win very difficult.

"When Lewis overtook Valtteri on Lap 4, I think many people expected this would be decisive. When Valtteri came back and re-passed, it was a key moment. Not only of the race but of the season, because it showed the extent of Valtteri’s skill and commitment. He has grown so much in his role alongside Lewis at Mercedes.

"The other aspect of the battle between the two Mercedes drivers early in the race was the amount of space and respect they gave each other. This was a proper, hard battle, but the cars never touched, they pushed as hard as they could, and the team was happy to let them."

"Flat out racing, which is what everyone wants to see but also managed with precision and professionalism," added Hakkinen, F1 World Champion in 1998 and 1999.

Bottas heads to seeking a third victory of the season when he kits up for the forthcoming German Grand Prix, while trailing Hamilton by 39 points. The Briton arrives in Hockenheim in the wake of his victory at Silverstone last Sunday - his seventh of the season.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/07/29/bottas-being-called-a-wingman-hurts/