Lewis Hamilton has ruled out gifting a victory to Valtteri Bottas in the final races of 2018 claiming it’s not how his Mercedes teammate would want to win.
Bottas is the only driver in the top three teams who hasn’t stood on the top step so far this season after playing a support role to the Briton in his effort to become champion.
In particular, the Finn gave up the victory in Russia after a team order and now that the championship goal has been achieved many are wondering if Hamilton will return the favour given to him in Sochi.
“I don’t think he is going to want that, he is going to win one on his own, in his own way,” said the 33-year-old on Thursday in Brazil.
“So I don’t think I’ll be doing him any favours in the sense of giving him a win, I don’t think he needs that — I think he thinks he can do it himself.
“All I can do is try and make sure I’m supportive throughout the weekend. I’m always really open with my set-up, so I’ll continue to do so.”
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Bottas enjoyed a strong end to 2017 finishing second at Interlagos before beating Hamilton to victory in Abu Dhabi and responding to Hamilton’s comments, the 29-year-old agreed.
“Yes, I definitely don’t want to win if it’s given to me,” he said. “I want to win by doing it by myself.
“Coming here knowing that there is a possibility to win a race is obviously a good feeling.
“You all know what my goal will be for this weekend, so it’s going to be up to me and I need to perform at my best level to fight for the win.”