Driver Profiles: Hamilton and Bottas (Mercedes Petronas AMG)

Mercedes have been involved in F1 in one way or another since 1954; first as Daimler-Benz for the 1954 and 1955 season and then making a comeback as Mercedes Petronas AMG F1 Team in 2010, having bought out Brawn GP. In its F1 break, the manufacturer provided engines and other parts for many of the teams. It has become one of the most successful teams in F1 history with consecutive Drivers’ and Constructor’s Championships between 2014 and 2020. Previous drivers for the team include seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher and World Champion Nico Rosberg. The team’s current drivers are Sir Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Lewis Hamilton #44

Sir Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time World Champion, winning one of the titles at McLaren and the other 6 with Mercedes. He has been at the team since 2013 and is widely respected as one of the best drivers the sport has ever seen.

The 36-year-old Brit made his debut in F1 at McLaren in 2007, having won previous titles such as GP2. A fun fact is that the decision about Williams signing Hamilton was kept quiet for nearly two months as there was concern over whether the exciting news would be overshadowed by the announcement of Michael Schumacher. He won his title in 2008, his second season in the sport. His move to Mercedes in 2013 was met with surprise as the team had little history of wins. In his first season with the team, he had one victory, however, changes to the engine regulations in 2014 saw Hamilton’s reputation soar, winning 11 of the 19 races that season. Since then, the number 44 has seen win after win, taking the top spot in the Driver’s Championship in 2017, 2019, 2019 and 2020.

His driving style is described as aggressive, and he is regarded as one of the most complete and consistent drivers on the grid. Hamilton currently holds many of the sport’s records. His 7 World Championship titles equals that of Schumacher; however, he has the most pole positions ever, the most career points and the most race wins ever.

Outside of racing, Hamilton is a strong advocate for BLM, particularly being the only black F1 driver. He has also spoken out about Human Rights, environmental and animal rights, free meals as well as being an ambassador for charities such as Save The Children, UNICEF and the Invictus Foundation.

Valtteri Bottas #77

Valtteri Bottas competed in various junior formulae and F3, before signing as a test driver for Williams in 2010. He has titles in Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 and GP3.

The 31-year-old Finn remained the test driver for Williams during the 2011 and 2013 season, before taking a full-time seat in the team in 2013. In the 2014 season Driver’s Championship, he managed to beat the likes of Vettel and Alonso to take 4th place. He then made the move to Mercedes for the 2017 season. His driving record at Mercedes has seen him place highly in the Driver’s Championship, finishing 3rd in 2017, 5th in 2018, and 2nd in 2019 and 2020.

Since starting in F1, he has won nine races and has 56 podium finishes. Despite being a great driver for the top team, he is yet to win a world championship however has repeatedly said that he will be fighting for it this season.

Regarding philanthropy, the Finn set up the Valtteri Bottas Duathlon, with the annual sporting event raising money for charity. A fun fact about the driver is that he served in the Finnish arm briefly and has a rank of lance corporal.

Other Drivers

The reserve and test drivers for the team are Formula E drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries. You can read about them here.