Bio:
Born in Nastola, Finland, in 1989, Valtteri Bottas has raced in Formula One since 2013. Racing in car number 77 for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, Bottas has had a rather tumultuous experience in Formula One thus far.
He began driving at a very early age, mostly on ice and snow in Finland, beginning karting at age six. He joined the Finnish National Karting team, which he was a member of for seven years, having gained a reputation in the karting scene in Finland as a race winner
History:
By 2007, Bottas was racing in single-seaters. He won three of five races in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series that year, missing out on winning the title due to complications with his racing license.
In 2008, he had another fruitful year, winning both the Formula Renault Cup and the Northern European Cup. These wins caught the attention of teams in other categories, gaining him a Formula Three seat for the following season with ART Grand Prix. He finished third.
While racing in the same championship the next year, he became the test driver for Williams Formula One team, a position he held for three consecutive years. He won the Formula Three title in 2011 while being test driver.
Bottas made his full Formula One debut in 2013, as a Williams driver. He finished fourth overall the following season. He stayed here until the 2017 season, at which point he moved to take over the Mercedes seat of Nico Rosberg, who had retired after winning the Driver’s Championship title the previous season.
While at Mercedes, he was beaten by his teammate Lewis Hamilton for Driver’s Championship titles throughout his stint at the team. Commentators and journalists often accused the team of favouring Hamilton and sacrificing Bottas in the process. Despite this, Bottas continued to drive spectacularly, winning ten grand prix. This was not enough to satisfy Mercedes higher ups causing Bottas to move to Alfa Romeo Sauber (now Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber) on a multi year deal from 2022 onwards.
At Sauber, Bottas has not had the success that he did at Mercedes. Nevertheless, he has received praise for his mentoring of newcomer Zhou Guanyu. He put up a great fight in the midfield.
Current Performance:
Bottas has struggled this season. Sauber’s car is slow and usually not fast enough to bring the drivers to points finishes, regardless of Bottas’ skill. He currently has zero points in the Drivers’ Championship standings and holds 20th position, having not finished higher than thirteenth yet in a race this season.
Future:
Bottas’ future is unclear. His current contract expires at the end of this season. Although no official announcements have been made, Bottas has made it clear publicly that he wishes to stay with Sauber into 2026 and beyond (when the team shall be taken over by Audi). No other team has shown public interest in him as of yet. Rumours are circulating surrounding a potential move back to Williams to replace Logan Sargeant, however, these rumours have not been substantiated.
Written by Alexandra.
Featured Image Credit: @valtteribottas on Instagram.
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