F1: Bottas admits ‘I couldn’t beat Hamilton’

(GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is enjoying his “completely different role” at Alfa Romeo in 2022.

The Finn admitted recently that he almost quit Formula 1 altogether during his tenure as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes.

“It was often a tough role,” Bottas, 32, told Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

“I had thought to myself that maybe I could win the world championship. But at some point I had to realize that I couldn’t beat Lewis.

“It was then difficult for me to accept always taking on the role of helper. Everyone listened to Lewis more and more – after all, he was the multiple champion.”

Now, he says his role at Alfa Romeo, where he is on a three-year deal, is “completely different”.

“I’m here as a leader and I can contribute my experience and support my young teammate Guanyu Zhou,” said Bottas.