“That’s Not the Valtteri That I Knew”: Bottas’ Ex-Boss Reveals How She Reacted After Seeing Mercedes’ Driver’s Mullet

2025 Mercedes reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas unearthed his inner Australian after leaving Mercedes for the first time at the end of 2021. His stint with Sauber saw him develop many character-defining habits — a mullet, and a few nude calendars.

However, the Finnish driver’s former boss at Williams, Claire Williams reveals that she was shocked by his transformation.

“I don’t know what’s going on with his mullet. I mean and some of the videos, it was bonkers. That’s not the Valtteri [Bottas] that I knew,” she said on the High Performance Podcast.

Now, she had good reason to feel shocked at this new look of Bottas, having interacted with him during his early days in F1.

Back during his stint with the Grove-based team and his early Mercedes days, the #77 driver was more of a reserved, corporate-pleasing driver, according to Williams. But with Sauber, Bottas got the freedom he never had to truly show his personality.

Apparently I deserve an Oscar for my performance in the Uber Carshare ad. These second takes prove otherwise. If you missed out on renting my second car, there’s thousands more ready and waiting for you on Uber Carshare. #valtteriwillmissyou pic.twitter.com/weRdncVv55

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) March 26, 2024

Bottas also credits Australia for making him come out of his reserved Finnish self. The Finn has been dating Aussie cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell since 2020, and her influence has rubbed off on him massively.

When asked if he could now be considered an Australian driver, he said, “You can. It would be an honor for me, actually.”

His mullet isn’t the only thing that he has adopted from his Aussie connection. The Bottas 2.0 also has a keen affinity with starring in hilariously bizarre ads. He has dropped appearances for many companies like his own gin company OATH Gin as well as Uber in the past.

And it can be said with certainty that Australia has embraced him back. Bottas recently took part in the 2025 AusCycling Road National Championship in Perth where one fan christened him an honorary Australian.

“Love him, mate. It’s the mullet that does it for me. Good on him for racing [for] our culture and what he does. He’s an honorary Australian as far as I am concerned,” he said. In fact, the 10-time Grand Prix winner has received this moniker several times in the past two years.