Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton may be one of the greatest racers in Formula One history, but the Brit’s success has caused some issues for others along the way.
His impressive 12-season stint with Mercedes left one of his F1 teammates feeling depressed and considering quitting the sport altogether. It was through no real fault of his own, other than being the main focus of the team at that time.
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Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish driver now competing for Cadillac, has recently opened up on the mental health struggles that consumed him while feeling he was reduced to being Hamilton’s ‘wingman’.
F1 Driver Struggled With Being Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Wingman’
Bottas and Hamilton were Mercedes colleagues for five years, but the former’s promotion in the wake of Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement in 2017 didn’t deliver as expected. The 36-year-old has now opened up on his fortunes from that point on.
He wrote in Players’ Tribune (per The Mirror): “First season was good. I started the 2018 season thinking that I was the best driver on the grid, and that I was going to win the championship.”
Despite his confidence, Bottas didn’t win a race as he was often forced to sacrifice himself to help Hamilton defeat Sebastian Vettel. He said: “Do you know how badly I wanted to just say no?
“But I had to be a good team-mate. I let him through, and of course, he had an incredible season. He was the champion. I was ‘the wingman.'”
Many years later, the two-time World Drivers’ Championship runner-up admits he still has ‘complicated feelings about it’. The Finland-born driver continued:
“To this day, I have complicated feelings about it. I don’t know how to answer when people ask me about it, because Lewis is an incredible driver and a friend. I have no bad blood with Mercedes or Toto or anyone. But the whole situation almost made me walk away from the sport.
“The old me came back. The negative Valtteri. The obsessive Valtteri. I was reading too many comments on social media, and I started to become very self-loathing. Thankfully, I had the tools from my experience in 2014 to understand what was happening, and I had plenty of support.”
Bottas Had Previous Mental Health Issues
The 2014 experience he was referring to was an eating disorder Bottas struggled with. During the early stages of his career on the track, he claims he was ‘completely consumed’ by the issue.
He explained: “It was like a game to me. I’d wake up and weigh myself every morning, and when I’d see the number go down, I’d feel a deep satisfaction.
“After two months of spiralling, my nerves were shot. I would wake up at 4am on my own, no alarm. I was like a drug addict, ‘I’ve never felt better!’ Ha. Completely delusional. The actual reason I was waking up so early was that my body was in starvation mode.”
It went a step further when he stated that there was a point when he ‘didn’t care’ what happened to him anymore. The Finn explained:
“I didn’t find joy in anything anymore. When I was back home, I was just so angry and negative about everything. I remember my ex asking me if I ever worry when I’m in the car, because it’s so dangerous. I said, ‘No. If I die, I die’
“At that moment, I realised that I genuinely did not care what happened to me anymore. Not long after that, I decided to get some help. I started seeing a psychologist, and I finally admitted out loud that I was unwell. It took me almost two years to feel like myself again.”
Hamilton’s Dominance Led Bottas to Feel ‘Depressed’
Languishing in Hamilton’s shadow in the 2018 season, Bottas started to feel ‘depressed’ and was even considering his future in the sport. Claiming he intended to retire before the 2019 season, he said:
“I was definitely depressed and burnt out. I hated racing. During that winter break before the 2019 season, I did not think that I was going to come back.
“That winter break, I made the decision that I was going to retire. Then I went for a walk one day in the forest. I walked in the deep snow for maybe three hours and I walked out of those woods with a completely different mindset.”
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However, he persevered and started the 2019 season with a victory in Melbourne. Hamilton still went on to dominate and win the world championship title that year. After a brief spell with Sauber, he now claims to be the ‘happiest’ he’s ever been, racing for Cadillac.
