“It’s great to see him flourish” - Hamilton's verdict on the ‘new’ Bottas

They spent five years together as teammates at Mercedes, remaining undefeated in the constructors’ championship.

Hamilton won four of his five drivers’ titles alongside Bottas, with the Finn finishing runner-up in two of those years.

Bottas was ultimately dropped for George Russell at the end of 2021, allowing him to make the switch to Alfa Romeo.

Despite a good start with the Swiss-based team, Bottas has struggled for form in recent races relative to teammate Zhou Guanyu.

However, since leaving Mercedes, Bottas has shown a more extroverted personality through many avenues such as his mullet haircut, social media presence or his off-track projects.

"It's great. I just saw Valtteri in flip flops just now, with his tan lines around his socks," Hamilton said during the Australian Grand Prix weekend. 

"It's great to see him flourish, and feeling more and more a part of himself and knowing exactly where he wants to go.

"I think for everyone it's just the whole discovery process, of compartmentalising and just making space for happiness away from the track."

Hamilton recognised the importance of finding things to do outside of F1, citing the benefits it has to a driver’s mental health.

"I think probably the same applies for everyone here," he added.

"All of us work so hard, we're all travelling so much, we're all away from our families and friends so much, so we're missing out on a lot of things. 

"What are you doing to make time for yourself and for something that makes you happy? 

"I think that's such an important thing for mental health, to make sure that you find something that you love, whether it's taking a language course or playing an instrument or playing football, whatever it may be. 

"So it's cool that he's got these things that he's doing. I wish him all the best with it."