Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Mercedes. Motorsports. He is a supremely gifted driver who is probably best known for his partnership with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. He is presently the lead driver for Alfa Romeo.
Valtteri is one of the few real gentlemen left in F1, and he will not do anything that is not considered sportsman like. This has worked against him in the past where he has not shown the shear single minded purpose to win a championship.
When Bottas arrived at Mercedes in 2017, he had big shoes to fill.
Nico Rosberg, who had won the 2016 Formula One World Championship, had just retired from the sport, leaving a vacant seat alongside Lewis Hamilton.
Bottas had spent the previous four seasons racing for Williams, where he had established himself as a consistent and reliable driver, earning nine podium finishes and one pole position.
Despite his lack of experience with a top team like Mercedes, Bottas quickly proved himself to be a capable and competitive driver.
In his first race for the team, the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, he qualified in third place and finished on the podium in third place. This set the tone for what would be a successful season for Bottas, who won three races and finished third in the Drivers’ Championship, behind Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Bottas’ move to Mercedes in 2017 was a major step up in his career, as he joined the reigning world champions and took over the seat vacated by retiring world champion Nico Rosberg.
He was signed to a one-year contract initially, but he quickly showed his value to the team with strong performances on track.
Bottas made an immediate impact in his debut season with Mercedes, scoring his first win with the team at the Russian Grand Prix. He followed this up with victories in Austria and Abu Dhabi and finished the season in third place in the drivers’ standings, behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes 2017
Bottas’ performances in 2017 proved that he was more than capable of competing at the highest level of Formula One, and he was rewarded with a contract extension for the 2018 season.
Bottas continued to be a consistent performer for Mercedes. He was unable to match Hamilton’s pace and finished the season in fifth place in the drivers’ standings.
Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes Challenges In 2019
Bottas’ 2019 season was a challenging one. He struggled to keep up with Hamilton and faced stiff competition from Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
Valtteri was able to secure two wins during the season, at the Australian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix. He finished the season in fourth place in the drivers’ standings, behind Hamilton, Bottas, and Verstappen.
Bottas’ performances in 2019 were not up to the high standards he had set in previous seasons. He knew that he needed to improve if he wanted to challenge for the championship in the future.
He worked hard during the off-season to improve his fitness and his mental approach. In 2020 he came back stronger in 2020.
His form was down in the last year. It finally resulted in him being replaced by George Russel for the 2022 season.
Hi last F1 win was at the 2021 Turkish grand prix.
