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Lewis Hamilton says he won't hand over victory to Valtteri Bottas should he get the chance to do so on Sunday. Bottas has played an important role in making his teammate champion in 2018, including when he let the Brit overtake in Russia.
Hamilton has already won the driver's title, but Mercedes still have work to do in the constructor's championship. The team have told Hamilton they're not going to make the call to swap over should he be in the lead.
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“The team are not going to make that call. If I’m in the position, it’s not something I’ve asked Valtteri if he’d want that, but I don’t think he’s going to want that," Hamilton said.
"He’s going to want to win in his own way. So I don’t know if I’d be doing him many favours in the sense of giving him a win, I don’t think he needs that anyways, I think he can do it himself. All I can do is try to make sure I’m supportive throughout the process, throughout the weekend."
Bottas spoke about the issue and agreed. In Russia, the Finn claimed he understood why he had to give up the race win and said he would like the same to happen if it was the other way around.
Bottas is yet to win a Grand Prix in 2018 despite having good chances. In Baku, he picked up a puncture and his pole in Austria followed by a mechanical retirement. Speaking this week, he says he would like to win on merit.
“I definitely wouldn’t want to win by being given (it); I want to win by winning the race myself. Coming here, knowing that for me there is a possibility to win the race, that’s obviously a good feeling,” Bottas said.
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xoya
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He shouldn't have taken his then.
If F1 is a team sport, there should be no competition between teammates and a "gift" victory should be a victory no matter how you look at it.
Problem is that, deep down, we all know F1 being a team sport is BS.