After losing his place at Sauber following the end of the 2024 season, Valtteri Bottas got his homecoming at Mercedes, albeit in a different role. He will be a reserve driver for the Silver Arrows, which means he will be tasked with multiple behind-the-scenes responsibilities, which have seemingly begun.
Being a reserve driver generally means taking part in tests and simulator sessions. However, Bottas will also get to be part of exhibition runs, with the first of those scheduled to take place in the second week of March at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Bottas will get to drive a DTM race-winning car — the Mercedes 190E — on March 9th.
The event will take place a week before the opening round of the 2025 season in Melbourne. So, Bottas, who will also have to travel to Albert Park to fulfill his F1 duties, won’t have any issue balancing his schedule.
Valtteri Bottas is back at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival in 2025! Driving a DTM race-winning Mercedes 190E on Sunday, March 9. Details here: https://t.co/cxIJKhDvgh #AMF #Adelaide #F1 #DTM #Mercedes pic.twitter.com/77aVKE5BB5
— Adelaide Motorsport Festival (@AdelMotorsFest) January 28, 2025
The 190E first ran in the 1986 Bathurst 1000. 1967 F1 Champion Denny Hulme drove it alongside Alpine ski-racer-turned Touring Car driver Franz Klammer that year.
However, its true success came at the 1992 DTM Championship, which Mercedes dominated. The car won 16 races in total, with 1982 F1 Champion Keke Rosberg being one of the drivers on the roster, also winning a race in Wunstorf.
Bottas would be quite delighted at the thought of being behind the wheels of a prestigious car in Mercedes’ motorsport history. Besides, being a newly adopted Aussie who is in love with the country, Bottas would absolutely cherish driving the car around in Adelaide.
Bottas’ love affair with Australia
Being in a relationship with Australian cyclist, Tiffany Cromwell, Bottas has learned a lot about the way of life in her country and has resonated deeply with the same. Since his move to Sauber in 2022, the #77 driver has made it his second home, deeply immersing himself in their culture. And it seems like he will continue to do so for some time.
Taking up new habits such as cycling, swimming, and surfing has not been completely alien to him either, since Finnish people too, are into adventure sports.
He also grew a mullet, a very popular hairstyle in Australia, and started behaving like someone brought up in the country. For the F1 community, this has been quite endearing to see. Even the F1 fans Down Under deemed him an honorary Australian.
Currently, there is no clarity on what will happen with Bottas’ F1 career. He has accepted his current fate of being on the sidelines with Mercedes. However, off the track, the Finn has a lot of things on his plate including his gin and coffee business and his newfound passion for professional cycling.
