Valtteri Bottas took Sir Lewis Hamilton’s championship defeat to Max Verstappen as a personal loss for himself, with the Finn “gutted” that Mercedes were unable to seal both titles in Abu Dhabi.
Bottas contested his final race as a Mercedes driver on Sunday, but was unable to involve himself in the leading pack, to the detriment of his team-mate’s title chances.
The Finn will depart Mercedes for Alfa Romeo in 2022, but he wishes he could have bowed out with his team picking up maximum success in 2021.
“I haven’t seen anyone yet but I can feel it, of course we wanted to get both titles. Getting the Constructors’ again is huge, but at the same time it hurts that Lewis didn’t get the Drivers’ because, even for me, I feel like I lost the championship because he lost it,” he said after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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A late crash for Nicholas Latifi allowed Verstappen to pass Hamilton on the final lap to become the Netherlands’ first-ever Formula 1 champion.
Bottas feels that Hamilton would have been a worthy champion and regrets the late Safety Car that ultimately cost him in his fight with Verstappen:
“I really feel gutted for him because I feel like he deserved it, he had a great start, a great race, and then things changed like this.
“But that’s the sport, we know that’s how it goes, sometimes it goes against, sometimes it goes for you, but today was not our day.”
Despite the obvious disappointment of the events of the final race, Bottas is excited for his new chapter in Formula 1.
“It’s time for something new, I’m really proud and thankful what we’ve achieved together. We’ve done great things”, said the 32-year-old, adding: “it’s kind of sad to leave, but of course I’ll look forward to the future.”
Bottas has already been busy at work with his new Alfa Romeo team, driving in the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit in the UAE capital.
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