Hamilton vs Bottas 2019: the year of "Valtteri, it's James"
Bottas started 2019 with four consecutive wins. Could he have won the championship if the team situation had been different?
The simulation's verdict
Lewis Hamilton would have won the 2019 title in 98% of the 200 simulations.
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri Bottas
Who finished ahead
Based on 200 simulations of the 2019 season. Numbers can vary each time you play.
Historical context
Valtteri Bottas came into 2019 with a renewed attitude and won four races. But team orders and Hamilton's psychological dominance ended up keeping him away from the title. In true equal conditions, without hierarchies, who would have won the championship?
The real 2019 season
The 2019 season was another display of the Mercedes machine, which made a historic start by winning the first eight races of the year with the ultra-reliable W10. The German team clinched its sixth consecutive title double. Internally, Valtteri Bottas took the fight to Lewis Hamilton in the first part of the year, but the Briton's consistency and level in the big moments ultimately made the difference. Hamilton managed his advantage and was crowned six-time world champion with several races to spare. With this crown, the man from Stevenage moved within a single title of matching Michael Schumacher's all-time record, while also closing in on his historic wins tally. The era of silver dominance seemed to have no end.
Real champion: Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes W10. Hamilton at Silverstone: surpasses Schumacher with 87 F1 wins to become the all-time winner. See the full 2019 season →
The drivers
Lewis Hamilton is the most decorated driver in history in wins and poles, and equals Schumacher with seven world titles. Raised in Stevenage and backed by McLaren from childhood, he burst onto the scene in 2007 with such force that he came within a single point of the championship in his rookie year. He made amends in 2008, clinching his first title on the final corner of the last race in Brazil, snatching it from Felipe Massa metres from the line. Full profile →
Valtteri Bottas embodies the very fast driver who ended up as number two at the best team of an era. The quiet, hard-working Finn from Nastola earned his Williams seat before Mercedes called in 2017 to replace the newly retired Rosberg. For five seasons he was Hamilton's team-mate and a key part of Mercedes' constructors' titles. Full profile →
How it's simulated
The engine recreates qualifying (Q1, Q2, Q3) and every Grand Prix with the ~20 real drivers of 2019, weighing each car's performance, driver skill, weather, safety cars and tyre wear. Learn how the simulator works →
Season
2019
Mode
Free duel
Tags
Choose driver, car and season. The engine simulates the full championship with real drivers.