Valtteri Bottas is relaxed about his Formula 1 future. With not knowing yet if he will remain on the grid for 2025, and seeing seats at rival teams dry up, Bottas could be forgiven for feeling anxious. But as he points out when we chat at the British Grand Prix, “this isn’t his first rodeo”.
The Finnish driver, who will turn 35 at the end of this month, currently sits at the bottom of the drivers’ championship table without scoring a point driving for Sauber.
But Bottas knows that things can turn in a flash in F1, like in January 2017 when he was signed by Mercedes as an 11th-hour replacement for Nico Rosberg following the German’s shock retirement.
During his time with Mercedes, Bottas toed the corporate line, but as we speak in Sauber’s motorhome with his bleached mullet poking out from under his cap, he is taking himself less seriously these days and perhaps accounts for why he is so relaxed.
“Obviously, everyone is different,” he said, as we discuss a very tongue-in-cheek advert he did earlier in the year for taxi firm Uber. “But I’ve found the way to allow myself to take the p*** out of myself and not to take certain things too seriously.
“Of course, racing I’ll always take extremely seriously but, in the end, we’re all just humans. I feel like it’s important to see the fun in certain things and especially about yourself.
Valtteri Bottas, KICK Sauber, in the garage
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“I’ve been there. I’ve been like a robot probably in the past, but I’m glad I’ve managed to come out of it. I think it is maturity and experience, it took a while for me to realise and understand who I really am.
“I’ve been in this situation many times before in my career [waiting for a new contract], so it’s nothing new for me. Sometimes it might be stressful, but it’s the way you handle it – for me, at the moment, it is exciting and not too stressed. It is not my first rodeo.”
Bottas’s cause for a new deal has not been helped by a poor car that has failed to deliver on expectations. Without a point since last year’s Qatar GP, Bottas’s career seems at odds with the 10 victories he achieved with Mercedes.
But he says people in the paddock do not need reminding of his abilities behind the wheel, with his current team now the most likely option to prolong his F1 career.
He added: “I can’t say that I’m satisfied with how the season has been so far. We’ve got zero points, which was not the target but from my side,…
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