Hamilton only wants Bottas to stay so he'll be number one - Palmer

Former Renault Formula One driver Jolyon Palmer reckons that Lewis Hamilton is only eager for Valtteri Bottas to stay at Mercedes so the Brit can easily retain his status as the number one driver in the team - much like the relationship between Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.

Last season was Bottas' debut year for the Silver Arrows, and although he won a few Grand Prix races, he never looked a contender for the championship alongside his team-mate.

His contract runs out at the end of this campaign, and Hamilton has stated that he wants Bottas to stay.

Palmer, however, thinks Hamilton only wants this because he knows he will always be number one at Mercedes if Bottas continues.

“I think he’ll be very happy with it,” Palmer said on BBC Radio 5 Live in reference to Hamilton's view on the squad dynamic at Mercedes.

“It’s a very similar situation to what we’ve got at Ferrari where Sebastian Vettel is kind of the No 1 driver, whether officially or not, and he’s voiced his support for Kimi Raikkonen to stay there.

“When you have a situation like this in the team, you have one guy that is the No 1 then they don’t want the second guy to be as quick, it’s natural.

“He’s a competitor and he can also be helpful in a title run-in," he said of Bottas.

Palmer also provided his opinion on Hamilton's contract situation, with the current world champion yet to put pen to paper on a new deal. He thinks Hamilton can go to whatever team he wants.

“Both Hamilton and Bottas are out of contract at the end of the year but I don’t think Lewis will be worried about it one bit because he can go anywhere he wants and I’m sure if Mercedes are quick and he has the desire to keep going then he’ll stay.

“To be honest, he probably won’t mind who his team-mate is because he’s four-time World Champion, could be five at the end of this year, he’s got a lot of confidence, a lot of natural talent and in the end for him it doesn’t matter.”