Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas targets can cause tension - Mercedes

Mercedes

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Hamilton, Bottas targets can cause tension - Mercedes

They both want the same thing.

Matthew Scott

Sunday 29 December 2019 16:00

Toto Wolff has hailed the driver partnership between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, describing the pair as a "sensational" line-up despite the pair wanting to beat each other.

It remains to be seen how long the trio of Wolff, Hamilton and Bottas will be in tandem, with all three on contracts that expire at the end of 2020.

Hamilton has been linked to Ferrari, while Wolff is reportedly a target for Liberty media to replace Chase Carey and Bottas has said he is keen to keep his options open next year.

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However, with the Silver Arrows celebrating a sixth straight title double in 2019, with Bottas having finished second in the drivers' championship behind Hamilton, Wolff says the duo are a perfect pairing.

He said: "Whilst managing drivers you have to embrace the fact that they will pursue their dreams, and their main target is going to win the drivers' world championship

"That can create some tension because not always these objectives are aligned to the team objectives.

"What I'm really proud of is that over all these years, we have always managed to get the drivers behind the team's objective and behind Mercedes' target to be one of the most successful sports teams in the world.

"You can see we've had our ups and had our downs but, fundamentally, the drivers have been a really strong contributing factor to all of our success.

"Valtteri and Lewis work really well together. They have been pushing each other.

"I think both of them had a decent season. Obviously, Lewis won the championship but Valtteri was always there, won a handful of races and I think has grown as a racing driver.

"This is a dynamic that is really positive for the team. In that respect, I believe that we have a sensational driver line-up going forward."