Valtteri Bottas
.jpg) Bottas at the 2018 British Grand Prix | |
| Born | Valtteri Viktor Bottas 28 August 1989 Nastola, Finland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Car number | 77 |
| Entries | 244 (243 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Podiums | 67 |
| Career points | 1797 |
| Pole positions | 20 |
| Fastest laps | 19 |
| First entry | 2013 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2017 Russian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix |
| 2017 position | 3rd (305 pts) |
| Previous series | |
| 2012 2011 2009–10 2009, 2011 2008 2007–08 2007 | Formula One testing GP3 Series Formula 3 Euro Series British Formula 3 Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault NEC FRUK Winter Series |
| Championship titles | |
| 2011 2008 2008 | GP3 Series Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 NEC |
Valtteri Viktor Bottas[2] (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋɑltːeɾi ˈbotːɑs]; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Mercedes. Bottas previously drove for Williams from 2013 to 2016. He currently resides in Monaco. In his first four races for Mercedes in 2017, Bottas achieved his first Formula One pole position in Bahrain and his first victory at the following event in Russia. He finished the 2017 season taking pole position, fastest lap, and the race win at Abu Dhabi.
Early life
Bottas was born in Nastola, Finland on 28 August 1989 to Rauno Bottas and Marianne Välimaa. His father owns a small cleaning company, and mother is an undertaker.[3][4] He was educated in Heinola. Bottas served in the army briefly, which is mandatory for adult males in Finland.[5] His military rank is Lance corporal.[6]
Early career
Junior formulae
Born in Nastola, Finland, Bottas finished eighth in the 2005 Karting World Cup for the P.D.B. Racing Team, using Gillard chassis and Parilla engines.
Bottas won both the 2008 Formula Renault Eurocup and the 2008 Formula Renault Northern European Cup. In doing so, he repeated the feat of Filipe Albuquerque, who won both the NEC and Eurocup in the same season, in 2006.
Bottas would have also won the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Series, had he been holding an MSA-registered licence for the championship. This did however not stop him from competing, and he won three out of the four races in the championship.
Formula Three
He moved up into the Formula Three Euroseries for the 2009 season, competing for reigning champions ART Grand Prix. Despite not winning a race, Bottas set two pole positions on his way to third in the championship, edging out Alexander Sims at the final race. In June 2009, Bottas won the 2009 Masters of Formula 3, also claiming the pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race. By winning the event again in 2010, he became the first driver to win the F3 Masters title for the second time.[7]
In 2010 Bottas was assigned test driver for the Williams Formula One team[8] and would continue as such for the 2011 and 2012 (where he took part in 15 Friday Free Practice sessions)[9] seasons. Also in 2011, the Finn also contested the GP3 Series, remaining with F3 squad ART.[10] After a tough start to the season, he claimed a win in each of the last four race weekends and secured the title by winning the penultimate race ahead of his teammate James Calado.[11]
Formula One
Williams (2013–2016)
2013
Bottas returned to racing in 2013, as he was confirmed as teammate to Pastor Maldonado at Williams-Renault for the 2013 season on 28 November 2012.[12] On 8 June 2013, Bottas qualified in 3rd position at the Canadian Grand Prix behind Sebastian Vettel (1st), and Lewis Hamilton (2nd).[13] He scored his first points finish at the United States Grand Prix by finishing 8th. This result allowed Bottas to finish ahead of Maldonado in the Drivers' Championship.
2014
On 11 November 2013 Bottas was confirmed to continue with Williams-Mercedes in 2014 alongside Felipe Massa, who was signed from Ferrari to replace Pastor Maldonado.[14] At the first race of the 2014 season in Australia, Bottas qualified 10th and finished 6th, after recovering from a crash earlier in the race. He was later promoted to 5th after Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from 2nd position.[15] At the Austrian Grand Prix, Bottas qualified 2nd, his then-best grid position in Formula One and achieved his first podium in the sport, finishing third behind Nico Rosberg (1st) and Lewis Hamilton (2nd).[16] Despite qualifying 14th on the grid at the British Grand Prix, Bottas charged through the field to finish second, following Rosberg's retirement from the race, thereby achieving his second consecutive career podium. At the German Grand Prix, he qualified second and ended the race in the same position despite a late challenge from Hamilton. After achieving three more podiums in Belgium, Russia (where he set his first fastest lap of a race) and Abu Dhabi (part of the Williams team's first double podium since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix), Bottas finished 4th overall in the Drivers' Championship, beating the likes of former world champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
2015
In September 2014, it was announced that Bottas and Massa would retain their drives with Williams for the 2015 season.[17] At the opening race of the season in Australia, Bottas qualified sixth for the race, but injured his back during qualifying. He was taken to The Alfred Hospital for precautionary checks,[18] where he was diagnosed with soft tissue damage to his lower back, and was not medically cleared to race.[19] Both Bottas's and Williams's season did not live up to their hopes. Williams lost out in the development war to Ferrari over the winter and slipped further behind Mercedes. Bottas achieved two podium finishes across the 2015 season. The first of which came at the Canadian Grand Prix when Kimi Räikkönen's Ferrari experienced an engine mapping issue resulting in him spinning, leaving an easy podium opportunity for the Williams driver. The second podium of the season came in Mexico behind the Mercedes duo. Two races earlier, Bottas was on course to finish third in Russia before Räikkönen collided with him while trying overtake on the final lap of the race. Sergio Pérez was rewarded with the podium, while Räikkönen was penalised, dropping him to 8th and Bottas retired. Bottas finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship beating his experienced teammate Felipe Massa for the second consecutive year.[20]
2016
Bottas and Massa remained teammates at Williams for the 2016 season. They were the only two drivers to achieve points finishes in all of the first five races of the season.[21] Bottas claimed third place at the Canadian Grand Prix, matching his result of the previous year.[22] This turned out to be Williams's only podium finish of the season. He achieved an unofficial Formula One record speed of 378 km/h (235 mph) at the Baku City Circuit during qualifying for the European Grand Prix.[23] The second half of the season was less eventful for Bottas. He finished 8th in the Drivers' Championship, once again ahead of his teammate Massa's 11th place. He also out-qualified his teammate 17–4 over the course of the season.[24]
Mercedes (2017–present)
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2017
On 16 January 2017, Mercedes announced that they signed Bottas for the 2017 season to partner Lewis Hamilton, replacing the 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg following his shock retirement from the sport.[25] Bottas finished 3rd in his first race as a Mercedes driver, the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, behind Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. At the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix he spun behind the safety car and fell from 5th to 12th but managed to fight his way back to 6th place behind Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, the two Red Bulls and Kimi Räikkönen. He managed to qualify on pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix, marking his first career pole position.
However, in the race he had to settle for third place after suffering from tyre pressure problems during his first stint, and being unable to find the pace to battle Vettel and Hamilton. He won the 2017 Russian Grand Prix on 30 April 2017, his first Grand Prix win, after jumping the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen from 3rd on the grid on the first lap, making him the fifth Finn to win a Grand Prix.[26] He retired from 3rd in the next race in Spain with an engine issue, having previously survived a collision with Verstappen and Räikkönen on the first lap that took the other two drivers out of the race. Mercedes was off the pace in Monaco, struggling to generate heat in the tyres. Nevertheless, Bottas put on a stunning performance in qualifying with 3rd, less than a tenth of pole, while his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, could only qualify 14th. He finished 4th in the race, after Ricciardo jumped him during the pit stops. Bottas finished 2nd in Canada, behind teammate Hamilton, followed by a brilliant recovery drive in Azerbaijan to 2nd, having been in last place and a lap down following a collision with Räikkönen on the first lap. He used the multiple safety cars and red flag period to catch up to the pack and the ensuing chaos and drama in front of him allowed him to eventually snatch 2nd at the last moment of the last lap from Lance Stroll. Bottas topped this at the next race with a pole and victory at Austria, holding off Sebastian Vettel's charging Ferrari towards the end of the race, putting him only 15 points behind Hamilton in the championship.
Having started the next race in Britain in 9th, following a 5 place grid drop for a new gearbox, he scythed his way up the field to 3rd and eventually finished 2nd, behind Hamilton, courtesy of a late race tyre failure for Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen. In Hungary, he qualified and finished 3rd, with Hamilton giving him the position on the last corner of the last lap, after he let Hamilton go through to attack the Ferraris. Bottas returned from the summer break in poor form and finished 5th in Belgium, having started 3rd, as he was overtaken by both Ricciardo and Räikkönen after the safety car restart, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton won the race, 16 seconds adrift of Bottas. He then followed this up with a poor qualifying performance in a wet Q3 in Italy. He qualified 6th (he would start 4th due to penalties to the Red Bulls), more than 2 seconds slower than pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton. He recovered to finish 2nd in the race at a track where Mercedes were dominant. His struggles continued into Singapore, qualifying 6th and half a second down on Hamilton in 5th, however, a huge slice of luck and good strategy meant that he finished the race in 3rd following the four car collision on the first lap that occurred in front of him. He then finished off the podium for the next 3 races, while Hamilton racked up 2 wins and a 2nd place, as Mercedes clinched their 4th consecutive Constructors' Championship in the USA. He got his third pole position of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix, followed by his fourth pole and third win at the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
2018
On 13 September 2017, Mercedes announced that Bottas would be driving for them once again in the 2018 season.[27] Bottas started off the season poorly in Australia, where he crashed out in Q3 and was given a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox as a result,[citation needed] meaning he would start the race in 15th place; his teammate Hamilton started the race from pole. In the race, Bottas made it up to eighth place, benefiting from the virtual safety car as well as performing a few overtakes on a track where it is difficult to pass cars.[citation needed]
Bottas bounced back in Bahrain by putting his car third on the grid, behind the Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen but ahead of Hamilton who qualified fourth. In the race, Bottas got past Räikkönen, at the start. At the end of the race, Vettel's tyres began to go off quickly,[citation needed] and Bottas closed the gap to Vettel to within a second and eventually finished second, with Hamilton just a few seconds behind him. However, pundits, drivers and ex-drivers alike criticised Bottas's cautious challenge for the lead.[citation needed]
Bottas again out-qualified his teammate to take third place on the grid, as the Ferraris locked out the front row again, in China. He again pounced on Räikkönen at the start, after his fellow Finn had been squeezed by Vettel,[citation needed] and moved up to second. He then managed to overtake Vettel during the first pit stop phase and took the lead with a move around the outside of Räikkönen, who had yet to pit, at the first corner. However, when the Toro Rossos of Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly collided and forced a safety car period, both Bottas and Vettel had passed the pit entrance and were unable to stop for fresh tyres. Both the Red Bulls pitted for softer and faster soft tyres. Ricciardo came through the field from sixth place and performed an audacious[according to whom?] overtake on Bottas with only eight laps to go. Bottas finished second in the race and remained third in the championship, and 14 points behind leader Vettel.
At the next race, in Baku, Bottas again qualified third, behind Vettel and Hamilton. He remained in third for the first period of the race, but when both Hamilton and Vettel pitted for new tyres Bottas inherited the lead. He stayed out for 15 more laps until the Red Bulls took collided and brought out the safety car. When the safety car came in, with less than a handful of laps to go, Vettel tried to pass into turn 1 and ran wide, and consequently fell to fifth place. With just two laps to go, Bottas ran over a piece of debris, sustained a right rear puncture and retired from the race, handing Hamilton the victory. This meant that Bottas fell to fourth in the championship, 30 points behind Hamilton in first.
Ahead of the German Grand Prix, Bottas signed a new contract with Mercedes for the 2019 season with an option for the 2020 season.[28]
Personal life
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On 11 September 2016, Bottas married his long-time girlfriend, Emilia Pikkarainen, a fellow Finn and an Olympic swimmer whom he had been dating since 2010. The couple were married at St. John's Church, Helsinki.[29]
Racing record
Career summary
* Season still in progress.
† – As Bottas was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F308/009 | Mercedes | HOC 1 Ret |
HOC 2 16 |
LAU 1 2 |
LAU 2 13 |
NOR 1 12 |
NOR 2 Ret |
ZAN 1 2 |
ZAN 2 6 |
OSC 1 2 |
OSC 2 8 |
NÜR 1 2 |
NÜR 2 4 |
BRH 1 2 |
BRH 2 15 |
CAT 1 4 |
CAT 2 6 |
DIJ 1 16 |
DIJ 2 Ret |
HOC 1 2 |
HOC 2 5 |
3rd | 62 |
| 2010 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F308/026 | Mercedes | LEC 1 9 |
LEC 2 6 |
HOC 1 3 |
HOC 2 5 |
VAL 1 2 |
VAL 2 4 |
NOR 1 3 |
NOR 2 1 |
NÜR 1 6 |
NÜR 2 7 |
ZAN 1 2 |
ZAN 2 Ret |
BRH 1 4 |
BRH 2 4 |
OSC 1 1 |
OSC 2 11† |
HOC 1 2 |
HOC 2 3 |
3rd | 74 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete GP3 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Lotus ART | IST FEA 4 |
IST SPR 8 |
CAT FEA 10 |
CAT SPR 7 |
VAL FEA 7 |
VAL SPR 3 |
SIL FEA 15 |
SIL SPR 12 |
NÜR FEA 3 |
NÜR SPR 1 |
HUN FEA 1 |
HUN SPR 2 |
SPA FEA 1 |
SPA SPR 19 |
MNZ FEA 1 |
MNZ SPR 17 |
1st | 62 |
Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicates fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
† Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
References
- ^ "Silver Arrows and Valtteri Bottas together in 2018". mercedesamgf1.com. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.
- ^ Nastola municipal board minutes 19 Jan 2015
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas of Williams aims to be next Flying Finn". BBC Sport. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ Stubbs, Dave. "Reason for Williams’s Rauno Bottas to celebrate". www.montrealgazette.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "Bottaksen äiti kertoo: Perhe on tehnyt pitkän matkan". ESS.fi (in Finnish). 30 November 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ "Bottas olisi valmis vaikka heti F1-kisoihin - Muut - Turun Sanomat". 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Bottas makes history at Zandvoort Masters". Motorsport.com. 6 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ Beer, Matt (29 January 2010). "Williams signs Bottas as test driver". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ "Pastor Maldonado Confirmed for 2012 with Valtteri Bottas as Reserve Driver". WilliamsF1. 1 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Bottas lands Lotus ART seat for 2011". MotorsTV.com. 23 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Champion win for Bottas in Monza". GP3 Series. 10 September 2011. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Elizalde, Pablo (28 November 2012). "Williams confirms Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado for 2013". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ Beer, Matt (8 June 2013). "Canadian GP: Vettel claims pole in rain-hit session". Autosport.com. Haymarket. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Benson, Andrew (11 November 2013). "Felipe Massa joins Williams for 2014 to replace Pastor Maldonado". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ Weaver, Paul (16 March 2014). "Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from Australia GP". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas claims first ever podium finish in Austria". 22 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
- ^ Benson, Andrew (7 September 2014). "Felipe Massa & Valtteri Bottas to stay at Williams". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas in hospital with back pain after F1 qualification". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Bottas declared unfit to race in Australian GP". Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "2015 Driver Standings". Formula1.com. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "Stat Wrap: 2016 Spanish Grand Prix". Channel 4. 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Bottas lauds 'perfect' Williams strategy after Canada podium". ESPN. 12 June 2016.
- ^ Collantine, Keith (20 June 2016). "Williams hit record speeds on and off the track". F1Fanatic. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "2016 review: Williams drops back to fifth". GPUpdate.net. 16 December 2016.
- ^ Barretto, Lawrence (16 January 2017). "Valtteri Bottas joins Mercedes for F1 2017, Felipe Massa to Williams". Autosport.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas stuns Vettel and Hamilton to win F1's Russian GP". Guardian. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Silver Arrows and Valtteri Bottas together in 2018". Mercedes F1 team. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas signs new Mercedes contract to keep him alongside Lewis Hamilton for 2019 and beyond". The Telegraph. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
- ^ "Valtteri Bottas gets married in Helsinki". thisisf1.com. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
External links
- 1989 births
- Living people
- British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- British Formula Three Championship drivers
- Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- Finnish expatriates in Monaco
- Finnish Formula One drivers
- Finnish racing drivers
- Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
- Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers
- GP3 Series Champions
- GP3 Series drivers
- People from Nastola
- Williams Formula One drivers
- Mercedes-Benz Formula One drivers