Hamilton: Bottas and I respect each other...unlike Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t think there will be a breakdown in the relationship between himself and Valtteri Bottas similar to the one he had with Nico Rosberg a few years ago, as he says there is “respect” between himself and the current Mercedes driver.

The Brit and Rosberg were team-mates at Mercedes in 2016, and got involved in a feud both on and off the track as they both fought fiercely for the driver’s championship.

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Hamilton has previously indicated that Rosberg ignored team instructions during races - something that he and Bottas won’t do because of the respect between them.

"There's things that happen in the background that you won't know about. I don't feel it's the place to really talk about it,” he said.

"When he [Wolff] mentions glimpses of that, he has seen a glimpse of it. What's really important is we pull together as a team. We've discussed it and hopefully rectified it and it won't spring up again.

"Whereas what happened before, an individual [Rosberg, in 2016] just continued to go down that route. But that's not what we have here. We have a really great energy within the team. The respect is there. We have an agreed rule set out so we do finish the races one-two. We play supporting roles either way."

Hamilton believes he and Bottas put the team first when thinking about results, and that’s why there won’t be any major arguments between the two.

"It will always be respectful," the five-time champion continued.

“Ultimately the core goal is for the team to finish at the top and I'm a team player.

“The fundamental key is we have to be a team player. We're not here for ourselves. What we're paid to do is win for the team and deliver for the team. As long as we remember that, we shouldn't have problems."

Bottas currently leads the driver’s championship by one point ahead of Hamilton.

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