Valtteri Bottas is enjoying his much more laid-back career with Alfa Romeo. The driver has claimed he is much happier now after spending 5 seasons with Mercedes opposite Lewis Hamilton.
This season fans have been treated to a fun side of the Finn. The Alfa Romeo racer has become an honorary Australian after spending quality time with his girlfriend down under.
Bottas unveiled his mullet before the start of the 2023 season. The Finnish racer even entered the F1 paddock during the 2023 Australian GP like a proper bogan, rocking a tank top and a pair of flip-flops.
Bottas admits to enjoying his experimental side and all the fun that comes with it. However, the Finn claims he wouldn’t have dared to do so earlier in his F1 career.
Bottas wouldn’t have rocked a tank top or flip flops with Williams or Mercedes
While Valtteri Bottas is the coolest F1 driver in the gird, he admits it’s impossible to be like this so early on in your F1 career. The 10-time Grand Prix winner claims he would’ve never been seen donning a tank top and flip flops in a race weekend had he been a rookie. Or even during his time with former teams Mercedes and Williams.
Bottas stated, “I wouldn’t have shown up to the paddock in a tank top and flip-flops as a rookie. Not even a few seasons ago! It’s quite easy now. I’m not too serious about myself.”
As time progresses, the Finnish driver claims a racer knows what matters and what doesn’t. With experience, one can adopt a carefree “deal with it” attitude.
F1 has long been regarded as an elitist sport. Wearing a Mullet or tank top in the 80s or 90s would have seen a drive being shunned by fans. Though the same stigma doesn’t persist, newbie drivers still face the pressure to maintain an image.
He added, “Without a doubt, times have changed. Though it’s part of the game when you’re a rookie as you need to through the system and you’ll be taught how to act and behave.”
Valtteri Bottas addresses the lack of true personalities in the F1 grid
In recent years, F1’s popularity has exploded. Due to the exposure in social media and through Drive to Survive, drivers are allowed to be more of their lifestyle outside of the racetrack. But Valtteri Bottas claims there is still a lack of true personalities.
When drivers enter the gird, they have a limelight over them. So it’s difficult to show their true characters and how they are as a person. Bottas shared, “Entering F1 itself is hard. It is also not easy to recognise people for who they truly are.”
The Alfa Romeo driver states it’s hard to know how his colleagues from the grid are to the outside of racing. Only drivers have managed to be themselves, as teams still demand them to showcase themselves in a certain way.
The Finn continued, “There have been some who have emerged over the past 10 years, like Ricciardo. I think it’s encouraging to see, but it is what it is because it’s serious business and a lot of money involved.”
Lando Norris is another driver who is loved by the fans and media for being jovial and light-hearted. There are drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who are known for their stances. Yet, drivers are usually not themselves in front of the cameras, claims Bottas.
