Valtteri Bottas provided an update on Lewis Hamilton’s potential retirement, saying that he remains doubtful regarding it.
Hamilton’s future seems to be up in the air after what happened to him at the Abu Dhabi GP. He was absolutely hard done by the authorities and robbed of a record-breaking eighth world title.
The Mercedes driver was left disillusioned by what had happened, and amidst rumours that his retirement was imminent, his silence didn’t help. It also didn’t help that he had responded with “we’ll see about next year” when asked about next season.
Bottas provided an update on Hamilton’s potential retirement, revealing his thoughts on the idea.
“With Lewis, what has been really impressive is that every year he’s still able to develop as a driver,” he said, as quoted by express.co.uk.
“He’s got such a big experience of Formula 1 but still he’s been able to learn more and for sure I’ve developed myself as a driver, but so has Lewis.
“It doesn’t come automatically, he works for it because he knows the competition is getting tougher and tougher.
“I’ve definitively learned many things from him during these five years, driving wise, set-up wise, lots of small things here and there. It’s been impressive to see him still develop and not get too comfortable.
“He always wants more out of himself and the team around him. It’s been the same thing every year, he keeps getting better.”
Don’t retire
Hamilton’s 2021 rival Max Verstappen was asked about Hamilton possibly retiring. He said that he hoped to see him on the grid next season.
“I can understand being unhappy about what happened after the first few days,” he said.
“But you also understand that this is racing and these things sometimes happen. I think it even happened to him before (in 2008) so I think he knows that.
“I think Lewis should just look at what he has achieved. That should comfort him and encourage him to keep going, because he can still fight for the eighth title again next year. So I see no reason for him to give up or stop now.”
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