Sports
Lewis Hamilton Lashes Out at F1 Community for Trying to Create Valtteri Bottas Rift
If anybody thinks they were having a bad Sunday, just talk to Valtteri Bottas once. The Finn had a miserable race which was made worse by people from his own team including his teammate Lewis Hamilton blaming him for the result.
The seven-time world champion reflected on the crucial first lap overtake by his rival Max Verstappen. Hamilton claimed that Bottas left the door open for Verstappen.
But Hamilton, who has dedicated Monday to a string of explanations, it seems, clarified his comments on his social media.
Lewis Hamilton on Instagram after his “door open” comment about Bottas yesterday #F1 pic.twitter.com/bTtoajkbRH
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) November 8, 2021
“We all have bad days. We live and we learn. Yesterday I said VB [Bottas] left the door open and naturally people will jump to criticise. We are a team and we win and lose as a team. There is not one single person responsible for winning or losing, we do it together good or bad.
“You may be able to beat us, but you won’t be able to break us. Onto the next one Valtteri, let’s keep pushing bro!”
No sympathy for the teammate of Lewis Hamilton
All was not just well but shaping up to be incredible for Valtteri Bottas who took the pole position on Saturday.
It should be pointed out that Mercedes struggled for grip for the entirety of the weekend and Sunday’s race was no exception.
As soon as lights went out, Max Verstappen charged towards the two Mercedes while Bottas went into braking much earlier into Turn 1. This gave a brave and hungry Verstappen an opportunity to pass both Mercedes in one move from which he never looked back for 65 of the 71 laps.
But things got even worse for Bottas, he was crashed into by Daniel Ricciardo which left him way back in the field. And to more of his frustration, Bottas found himself stuck behind the McLaren on two long separate stints.
A pitstop reminiscent of Monaco along with failing to break into the Top 10 ensured Valtteri Bottas had one of the worst races of his career.
Formula One F1 – United States Grand Prix – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, U.S. – October 22, 2021 Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas in the garage during practice REUTERS/Mike Blake
But it got even worse when his Team Principal openly criticised his driver after the race.
“We had two cars in front and seemed to open up the sea for Max to come around the outside. Yeah, we even saw the spin afterwards and a complete loss of points with Valtteri’s car when that could have been third or fourth is… annoying.”
Dive Deeper: Toto Wolff Points the Finger at Valtteri Bottas for Max Verstappen’s Mexico F1 Win
With a weekend to forget, Valtteri Bottas will have some encouragement from Hamilton’s explanation.
Because in his last few races at Mercedes, he’d want to show the German team why he deserved the seat for which he is being replaced.
The post Lewis Hamilton Lashes Out at F1 Community for Trying to Create Valtteri Bottas Rift appeared first on EssentiallySports.
