Valtteri Bottas was a team member of Mercedes Racing Team for many years and will drive for Alfa Romeo from the 2022 season.
MONTREAL – On June 12, 2016, Finnish racing driver Valtteri Bottas finished third at the Canadian Grand Prix. This rank represents Valtteri Bottas’ best finish in this Formula 1 season. The following year, the driver changed from the Williams Martini Racing team to the Mercedes team.
Valtteri Bottas: the origins and the first stages of his career until promotion to Formula 1
Valtteri Victor Bottas was born on 28 August 1989 in Nastola, southern Finland. At the age of six, Valtteri Bottas discovered karting for himself. In 2007 he switched to single-seater racing. At first he competed in the Northern European and British Formula Renault. The following year they again participated in the Northern European Formula Renault and Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. In both race formats, Valtteri Bottas was successful with several victories and became a double champion. In 2009, the racing driver went through another important phase of his career by competing in Formula 3 (ART Grand Prix). This season he finished third in the overall standings. He achieved the same rank a year later. In the 2010 season, Valtteri Bottas also managed to get into Formula 1 by serving as a reserve and test driver in the Williams team.
Valtteri Bottas: the first success in Formula 1 from 2011 to 2016
Valtteri Bottas completed the 2011 season as a member of his previous racing team and raced in the GP3 series. He won the championship in this racing class. In addition, he continued to serve as a test and backup driver for the Williams team in 2011 and 2012.
In 2013, Valtteri Bottas became a regular driver for Williams in Formula 1. His first race in this capacity was at the Australian Grand Prix on 15 March 2013. The racing driver finished 14th. Overall, he has reached 17th place this season.
In 2014, Valtteri Bottas stayed with Williams and managed some top rankings, including:
- 5th place in Australia and Spain
- 3rd place in UK
- Second place in Germany and Austria
In the overall standings, Valtteri Bottas improved to fourth place.
In the 2015 season, Racer finished fifth and recorded these successes, among others:
- 4th place in Bahrain
- 5th place in Malaysia
- 3rd place in Canada
The 2016 season was the last for Valtteri Bottas as a Williams pilot. He finished eighth.
Valtteri Bottas: stations and successes in his career in Formula 1 from 2017 to 2022
In 2017, Valtteri Bottas switched to the Mercedes team and became a teammate of British Formula 1 record winner Lewis Hamilton. With the Russian Grand Prix he achieved his first victory in Formula 1.
The Finnish racing driver remained with Mercedes until 2021. It was during this time that he achieved some of the biggest successes of his career, most notably in these appointments:
- 2018: Second place in Bahrain, China and Japan
- 2019: Winners in Australia, Azerbaijan, Japan and USA
- 2020: winners in Austria and Russia
- 2021: Winner in Turkey
In the overall standings, Valtteri Bottas finished in the following positions:
- 2017: 3rd place
- 2018: 5th place
- 2019: 2nd place
- 2020: 2nd place
- 2021: 3rd place
At the end of the 2021 season, Valtteri Bottas left the Mercedes team. He has been running for Alfa Romeo Racing Team since 2022. The first race will take place in Bahrain on 20 March 2022.
Valtteri Bottas: girlfriend of a Formula 1 star
Valtteri Bottas was married to swimmer Emilia Picarainen from 2016 to 2019. Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell is his girlfriend since 2020.
