Hamilton wary of Bottas now contract talk is over!

Lewis Hamilton may have got the better of Valtteri Bottas, eight wins to two in the first half of the season, but the five-time World Champion is wary that his teammate will come on stronger in the second half of the season.

Bottas' early season form was enough to see him retain his seat for a fourth season in a row at Mercedes since he replaced Nico Rosberg in 2017. The Finn will partner Hamilton again next season and still harbour his own hopes of winning a World Championship title. 

Hamilton feels that now the contract worries are behind him Bottas will be a different animal as the calendar heads into the latter stages.

"I think it was pretty stressful for Valtteri not to know if he could stay or not," Hamilton told the media as quoted by Motorsport.

"Now that that is over, he can fully focus to get the most out of himself. Because of this, I expect him to be in the second half of the season a strong start.

 "Of course there is always a possibility that I will be caught up, so I have to stay focused."