Valtteri Bottas

Interesting facts

Bottas started karting at six after spotting an advertised karting event at his local supermarket; his childhood hero was fellow Finn Mika Hakkinen, and alongside racing he studied automotive engineering and completed mandatory military service, reaching the rank of lance corporal. He prepared for F1 as Williams's test driver from 2010 to 2012, debuted for the team at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, and by 2014 was regularly the fastest non-Mercedes driver on the grid. He joined Mercedes in 2017 to replace the retiring Nico Rosberg, taking his first pole in Bahrain and his first win in Russia that same year. During a winless 2018 season he finished second seven times without ever winning; by his own account he 'lost the joy of F1' and nearly walked away from the sport. Alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton he was cast for years in a supporting 'wingman' role, consistently outpaced by his teammate; his final Mercedes win came at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix. He moved to Alfa Romeo in 2022, calling it his 'most enjoyable' season despite scoring only 49 points; in 2024, racing as Sauber, he failed to score a single point, and became Mercedes' reserve driver for 2025. Valtteri Bottas has been racing in Formula 1 since 2013 as a Finnish driver. He scored a total of 1797 championship points over his career. His best season was 2019, when he finished 2nd in the championship with 326 points.