Valtteri Viktor Bottas, one of the most competitive players in Formula 1, was born on 28th August’1989 in Nastola, Finland. His father, Rauno Bottas, is self-employed at his cleaning company, and Bottas’ mother, Marianne Välimaa, works as an undertaker. He completed his education in Heinola. Valtteri came from a well-serving small family and took part in military services as an obligation in Finland’s mandatory practices. He concluded with a Lance Corporal military rank.
Valtteri Bottas-Early Career
1) Junior Formula
In 2005, Valtteri Bottas took part in the Karting World Championship and secured the eighth position. He was signed up for the P.D.B. Racing team and had utilized Gillard chassis and Parilla engines throughout the races. In 2008, Bottas secured two European Cups, the Formula Renault Eurocup and Formula Renault European Cup. Those two wins led the audience to notice an uncanny resemblance to Filipe Albuquerque, who had won two titles (NEC and Eurocup) in 2006.
Bottas couldn’t participate in the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Series due to the unavailability of an MSA license. This prompted him to compete yet again, and he got himself three winning races.
2) Formula Three
He was quick to upgrade for a Formula Three Euroseries, competing in the ART Grand Prix championship. He couldn’t win, but that didn’t stop him from pushing forward. Valtteri was able to win the 2009 Masters of Formula 3 series, setting the fastest lap record. Bottas won another Formula 3 series in 2010 and was declared the fastest driver (first driver) to win the same title twice.
2010 led Valtteri Bottas towards another opportunity. He was declared a test driver at Williams’ Formula One team. In 2011 he appeared for the GP3 series and decided to stay part of F3 squad ART. By the end of 2011, Bottas secured a win in the remaining last four races and surpassed his teammate.
Valtteri Bottas-Formula One Career
1) Williams (2013-2016)
Valtteri Bottas returned as a partner to Pastor Maldonado at Williams-Renault. Following 2013, Valtteri landed himself in the third position at the Canadian Grand Prix. At the United States Grand Prix, he finished eighth and, as a result, took the lead over Maldonado in the Driver’s Championship.
As of November 2013, Valtteri confirmed he would remain a part of Williams-Mercedes during the 2014 season. He achieved a second consecutive podium. In Australia’s 2014 season, Valtteri suffered a crash and qualified for the tenth position but finished sixth. Later, he got promoted to the fifth position, following Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification.
Receiving his best grid performance at the Austrian Grand Prix, Bottas qualified for the second position, earning him his first podium. Although Bottas qualified fourteenth at the British Grand Prix, he finished second, recording his second podium of the season.
In the German Grand Prix, he again qualified second behind Hamilton. He received another set of podiums in Russia, Belgium, and Abu Dhabi. He finished fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, competing against Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
Williams announced in September 2014 that Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa would drive for them again in 2015. Bottas qualified sixth for Australia’s 2015 opening race, but he later suffered a back injury. He was diagnosed with a soft muscle problem and deemed unfit for any further participation. On his course in Russia, an overpass resulted in a collision with a retired Valtteri.
Valtteri got two podiums in 2015, one at the Canadian Grand Prix and the second one in Mexico. Later that year, he competed in the Drivers’ Championship and came in fifth behind Felipe Massa, despite being more experienced. A friendly relationship between Massa and Valtteri resulted in a great partnership in 2015.
Williams retained Valtteri and Massa to race for the season 2016. In 2016 at the Canadian Grand Prix, Bottas secured the third position. As part of qualifying for the European Grand Prix, he set a record at Formula One of going 378 km/h (235 mph) at the Baku City Circuit. Once again, he finished ahead of Massa in the Drivers’ Championship, finishing 8th in a row.
2) Mercedes (2017-2021)
The Mercedes team signed Valtteri Bottas as its driving partner for the season 2017 alongside Lewis Hamilton. He secured the third position in his first race at the Australian Grand Prix. Following this, at the Chinese Grand Prix, a problem with his car led him to fall from fifth to twelfth position. He was quick to resurface at the sixth position. Valtteri surpassed Lewis and got his first career pole at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
In April 2017, he won his first Grand Prix series in Russia. Bottas secured 2nd position at the Canadian Grand Prix, and in Azerbaijan, he got another second position title. At Austria, Bottas secured a pole and came first in the same race. He won his third pole in the Brazilian Grand Prix. In Abu Dhabi, he won his third race and claimed his fourth pole position.
Mercedes decided to keep Valtteri for another season in 2018. Valtteri couldn’t perform well in Australia with either a crash or an engine failure. He was able to progress again in Bahrain, where he stood at third on the grid. In the end, Valtteri quickly covered the gap and overtook Vettel to finish second.
Before the German Grand Prix began, he again agreed to stay with Mercedez throughout the 2019 season. As the season ended, Valtteri Bottas had become the first Mercedes driver without a win in a season.
Valtteri Bottas signed a contract to race with Mercedes in 2019 to compete alongside Lewis Hamilton. In Australia, Valtteri qualified second and won the first race of the season. Moreover, he turned the fastest lap of the race, earning him an extra point. He won another second position title in Bahrain. Valtteri maintained a second-place finish in China and claimed his first pole position.
Valtteri got another pole position in Azerbaijan for the second time. Once again, he won another pole in Spain and finished 2nd behind Hamilton. Valtteri qualified second in the Monaco Grand Prix and finished third, ending his string of 3 pole positions.
Bottas struggled at the Hungarian Grand Prix and German Grand Prix before the summer break. While racing in wet conditions, a tiny mistake led him to crash during the German Grand Prix and forced him to exit the race.
Before the Belgian Grand Prix began, he decided to stay with Mercedes for another season in 2020. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Bottas won for the first time in thirteen races, and a crash at the final stage in Mexico staggered him back to third position. At his next race in the United States, Bottas won for the seventh time in his career.
Brazil came with another engine failure, resulting in his second retirement. Valtteri later finished fourth place in Abu Dhabi. In 2019, he made the most wins of his career—four wins, with leading 15 podium finishes, three fastest laps, and five pole positions.
Valtteri Bottas was still excited to be a part of Mercedez for the 2020 season. Bottas won the pole position and led the race from beginning to end in Austria. Despite qualifying 4th in wet conditions, Valtteri finished second place behind Hamilton at the Styrian Grand Prix. He qualified 2nd at the Hungarian Grand Prix but finished third because he made a false start.
In the Spanish Grand Prix, Bottas qualified 2nd but lost his position early and finished 3rd place. The Belgian Grand Prix was his best finish, and he stayed in 2nd place throughout the race. He qualified second for the Italian Grand Prix for the second time but dropped to fifth in the first laps. The Turkish Grand Prix had wet conditions, so Bottas qualified ninth. While Bottas had many difficulties in that season, he finished fourteenth.
Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas extended his Mercedes contract through 2021. He placed third in the Bahrain Grand Prix, and later, he struggled to work his tyres during the Emilia Romagna GP and finished 9th overall. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he qualified in tenth position but ended up in twelfth place.
Bottas qualified in third at the French Grand Prix, but he endured tyre wear issues, finishing fourth. At the Styrian Grand Prix, Bottas qualified 2nd place and dropped to 5th place due to dangerous spinning.
Valtteri was able to qualify as a fifth position member in the Australian Grand Prix. A single-player faced several crashes, off-track collisions, and multiple penalties during the entire season. Due to Hamilton’s crash failures, Bottas was able to overtake and capture third place. Despite showing outstanding performance in the Styrian Grand Prix, Bottas could not win the race due to several penalties and dangerous spins.
The coming year of 2022 is said to encounter Bottas as a partner to Alfa Romeo.