Wolff convinced Mercedes have "sensational driver line-up" in Bottas and Hamilton

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes his side have a "sensational" duo of drivers in Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, as the two combined for 15 wins in 21 races in 2019 as the Silver Arrows clinched a record-breaking sixth consecutive double championship.

Bottas had big boots to fill when he came to Mercedes in 2017, replacing Nico Rosberg who announced his retirement five days after winning the 2016 championship. 

The Finn has failed to challenge the dominant Hamilton the same way Rosberg did but has enjoyed his best year in F1 to date, winning four races in 2019 and battling Hamilton harder than he has done in years past.

Wolff realises that competitiveness between his two drivers can be detrimental to the team in some cases, but the Austrian is proud of how during both the Rosberg and the Bottas years, Mercedes has always come first rather than a driver's personal agenda.

“What I'm really proud of is that over all these years, we have always managed to get the drivers behind the team's objective and behind Mercedes' target to be one of the most successful sports teams in the world," Wolff said in Mercedes' 2019 review video.

“And you can see we've had our ups and our downs. But fundamentally, the drivers have been a really strong, contributing factor to all of our success."

Especially in the Rosberg-Hamilton era there have been on-track clashes that cost the team big points (Spain 2016, Austria 2016), something which doesn't happen anymore since Bottas joined the side.

“Valtteri and Lewis work really well together. They have been pushing each other.

“I think both of them had a decent season. Obviously, Lewis won the championship but Valtteri was always there, won a handful of races, and I think has grown as a racing driver.

“And this is a dynamic that is really positive for the team. In that respect, I believe that we have a sensational driver line-up going forward.”