Lewis Hamilton has taken to Instagram to thank fellow Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas after it was announced that he would be joining Alfa Romeo at the end of the season.
In the post, Hamilton lauds their four Constructors’ Championships before endorsing him as “the best teammate I’ve had the pleasure to work with.”
However, Nico Rosberg, who rivalled Hamilton during their four years as teammates at Mercedes, had a different take on the gushing post Hamilton gave to Bottas.
Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix during a sponsors event, Rosberg said: “[Lewis] says [Bottas] was his favourite teammate of all time. Bottas was super useful, he never beat Lewis, they were chill.”
The Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry is one of the most famous in the history of Formula One, as the two drivers frequently went head-to-head in their time as teammates at Mercedes from 2013 to 2016.
Despite growing up as childhood friends, their friendship became strained as the two drivers reached the pinnacle of the sport. After losing to Hamilton for a third consecutive year during the 2015 World Championship, Rosberg stated that he “locked [himself] into a hotel room” and “reminded [himself] to push, push, push like hell.”
The motivation tactic worked, as Rosberg went on to lift his first World Championship in 2016. He retired from the sport five days later.
Today, Rosberg and Hamilton do not maintain a relationship off the track, but the former may still consider himself to be the latter's best ever teammate.
After seeing the Brit write that Bottas was his favourite teammate of all time, Rosberg said: “I wanted to write under the Instagram post ‘what about me?’”
Meanwhile, Hamilton can look forward to racing alongside a new teammate next year.
George Russell, who currently races for Williams, has been signed to partner Hamilton for Mercedes during the 2022 F1 season.
In another Instagram post, Hamilton welcomed his future teammate and said that he is “looking forward to seeing him grow as a driver with this great team.”
But he may some big shoes to fill as he aims to replace Bottas as Hamilton’s favourite teammate of all time.