Valtteri Viktor Bottas, born on August 28th 1989, is a Finnish Formula One driver for the Sauber team (formerly branded as Alfa Romeo). He began his career in Formula One in 2010 as a test driver for Williams while still competing in the Junior categories. In 2011 he won the FIA GP3 Championship and earned himself a spot as a reserve driver for Williams in 2012, graduating to a full time seat in 2013. Bottas spent the next four seasons with Williams where he racked up nine podiums and finished fourth in the 2014 championship. In 2017, the Mercedes AMG team came calling after one of their ace drivers, Nico Rosberg, abruptly retired from the sport. Valtteri Bottas would partner with Lewis Hamilton in one of the “Silver Arrows” for the next five years, helping them add five more consecutive Constructors Championships to the previous three. While Valtteri was able to add another fifty-eight podiums to his name, he was never able to finish higher than second in the Drivers Championship, mainly due to the fact that he was racing against a formidable Lewis Hamilton. In 2022 Valtteri was offered a long term contract with the Alfa Romeo team and he took it, securing the seat through 2024.
Valtteri was born in Nastola, Finland to Rauno Bottas, the owner of a small cleaning company, and Marianne Valimaa, an undertaker. He grew up driving on the snow-packed icy roads of Finland, stating that if you can drive there you can drive anywhere. Not one to shy away from a challenge, he’s competed in the Arctic Lapland Rally 3 years in a row during Formula One’s offseason. Valtteri comes from a long lineage of accomplished Finnish drivers including Keke Rosberg, who won the F1 Drivers Championship in 1982, Mika Hakkinen who won back to back championships in 1998 and 1999, and Kimi Raikkonen who won in 2007. Valtteri currently resides in Monaco but owns a lake house in his native Finland.
Bottas is calm and reserved, cool under pressure, but he was disappointed with himself for not being able to snag a Drivers Championship during his time at Mercedes, and it was starting to show. He was occasionally asked to swap race positions with Lewis Hamilton to secure championship points, and the media at times referred to him as Hamilton’s wingman, something no driver wants to hear. At the Alfa team Valtteri seemed relaxed and comfortable, like he’d found a new home. With his long-term contract, he’s settled into a role as elder statesman, focusing on developing the car of a mid-pack team and mentoring his young teammate Zhou Guanyu. Still fiercely competitive and punching above his weight, Valtteri almost single-handedly muscled his Alfa team into 6th for the 2022 Constructor’s Championship. Possibly one of the most underrated drivers on the grid, it’s exciting to watch Valtteri come into his own as he cements his place in the history of Formula One.