Valtteri Bottas was born and raised in Finland. The ex-Mercedes man even served the nation’s army as a Lance Corporal during his time in service. However, the Finnish driver is ready to embrace his newfound Australian identity, courtesy of his Aussie girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell.
Bottas recently appeared on an Australian News broadcast, The Project with his girlfriend. In the interview, one of the co-hosts asked him, “Valtteri, you’ve got an Aussie girlfriend, you’re sporting a mullet, you’re getting around in budgie smugglers (Aussie slang for men’s underwear). Does that mean we can call you an Australian F1 driver?”
Without giving it a second thought, Bottas replied, “You can. It would be an honor for me, actually.” Bottas started dating Tiffany in 2020 after divorcing his ex-wife Emilia Pikkarainen in 2019.
Tiffany, a road and gravel cyclist by profession, introduced the F1 driver to the laid-back Australian lifestyle. Ever since joining Sauber, Bottas embraced the Aussie heritage to appear for the pre-race weekend press conferences in a mullet and flip-flops. The land down under has become his favorite place to vacation.
Whenever the Sauber driver gets time off from F1, he spends time with his girlfriend in Australia. He posts pictures from his vacations that often feature local Aussie beers and barbecues.
The couple recently posted pictures and videos from an Australian cycle race they featured in. That was where Bottas turned up in “budgie smugglers” and raced in them.
While Bottas dubbed his appearance at the cycle race to be in support of his girlfriend, Cromwell spelled how important the activity was for him as well. She talked about how important it is for F1 drivers to stay fit and how cycling is a great way for Bottas to achieve his fitness goals.
How Valtteri Bottas and Tiffany Cromwell complement each other in their disciplines?
The gravel race in Melbourne wasn’t Valtteri Bottas’ first. The Finnish driver often features in gravel races for the men’s division. Those include the races his girlfriend participates in around the globe.
Tiffany highlighted how important endurance training is for an F1 driver. She also revealed how cycling is one of the best exercises for it and her boyfriend loves doing it.
The pro cyclist also talked about the correlations in their respective disciplines and how they both train together for them. However, she also highlighted how important neck training is for F1 drivers, which is not a necessity in her discipline. That is one part of the training that Bottas does alone.
It is not just Bottas who takes an interest in his partner’s profession, though. Tiffany, when not busy, features in the F1 paddocks, accompanying the Finnish driver. Incidentally, she was in attendance when the Alfa Romeo team gave Bottas a standing ovation after a gritty performance that earned him a P5 finish at the 2022 Emilia Romagna GP.
Bottas’ personality took a turn for good when he joined Alfa Romeo. Last year, ahead of the Australian GP, he admitted how a change in the environment from Mercedes to Sauber was the reason behind his newfound relaxed personality. Perhaps, the month-long vacation in Australia and the mullet helped equally.
