Valtteri Bottas felt like he had ‘knife at his throat’ at Mercedes as new Alfa Romeo driver says he’s ‘laughing and smiling’ more after leaving role as Lewis Hamilton’s partner

Valtteri Bottas has admitted he felt like he had a 'knife at his throat' at Mercedes due to the pressure to perform as Lewis Hamilton's partner.

After four years with the German motor company, Bottas has joined Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season, having signed the first multi-year contract of his career.

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The Finn has been replaced at Mercedes by George Russell, who will now have to contend with being 'the other' driver as Hamilton seeks to claim a record eighth world championship title - a task all too familiar for Bottas.

And the 32-year-old has admitted he feels like a new man as he embarks on a new challenge with Alfa Romeo, where he will form a team with the grid's sole rookie Zhou Guanyu.

“If you feel like you have a knife to your throat, your head isn’t doing very well,” Bottas revealed to ‘Talking about me’ podcast via 

Speaking later about life after Mercedes, he added: “I can say that I have been laughing and smiling a lot more since I signed with Alfa."

Hamilton described Bottas his best ever teammate and the seven-time world champion made it clear he will be on the grid for the 2022 season despite speculation swirling that he could retire,

The Brit was cruising towards a record-breaking world title at the 2021 season finale back in December, 12 seconds ahead of title rival Max Verstappen with five laps to go.

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But a Nicholas Latifi crash then prompted a late safety car, giving Verstappen fresh tyres to overtake Hamilton and win his first title in hugely controversial circumstances.

Hamilton was magnanimous in defeat amid protests from his Mercedes team, but hadn’t been heard from since until last weekend.

The 37-year-old announced his return from his stance in a social media post which read, ‘I’ve been gone. Now I’m back!’, with the 37-year-old smiling as he posed in front of a canyon.