Wolff: Valtteri is a great team player

Stats will show that Hamilton has been around two to three tenths faster than Bottas on average on race and qualifying, but when the Briton digs deep he can be anything up to seven-tenths better than the Finn as he showed in Singapore.

However, when called upon to assist, block or move aside Bottas has delivered, speaking to Racer, Wolff said of the #77 drivers' contribution to their success, “It played a big role, because when there are two drivers that are very close together with each other in the competitive sense, they keep pushing each other."

"We saw it was a positive side between Nico and Lewis, that it was a constant push. Obviously they fell out. But with Valtteri, it never came to the moment of falling out and Valtteri would’ve taken the lead of the championship in Baku or around the lead if that win hadn’t been taken away from him."

“He kept his strength through these difficult days and he’s going through the pain that is one day going to make him happy, for sure.”

“Valtteri is a great team player. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to hear that. But as a matter of fact, he has the speed, and he was drafted late into Mercedes with the best driver as his teammate. He had a very strong start of the season, he was unfortunate in Baku losing a win which could’ve still kept him in the championship.

“From then on it kind of went away for him. And he took it with dignity and kept working hard for the team. The relationship between the drivers is really a strength of this team and he contributed massively in the two championships,” added Wolff in the wake of his wrapping up this year's two titles.

While Hamilton won the title with ten victories, while Bottas has yet to win one race this season but together they clinched the constructors' title in Brazil last Sunday.