In his 10 years of racing in Formula 1, Valtteri Bottas has bagged 10 race wins and scored 67 podium finishes.
After 5 years of racing with the Mercedes F1 team as the second fiddle, Bottas found his calling with the Alfa Romeo F1 team.
The Finnish driver seems to be much more comfortable with the Swiss team as he hopes to get to the top of the grid racing alongside Zhou Guanyu, but he went a long way before finally settling up.
In a candid interview, Bottas revealed the unhealthy habits that he developed under the pressure of performing as an F1 driver and the traumas he faced.
While the pressure of performing had consumed the Finn, the biggest blow to his mental health was the tragic death of his former teammate and Charles Leclerc’s godfather Jules Bianchi.
Valtteri Bottas trained like a robot
The pressure of performing in F1 gets into the head of a driver as they wish to make a name for themselves and compete at the top.
When he first started, Bottas too was under immense pressure and struggled in his second year in F1 with the Williams. In his later years, he performed well for the Grove-based team but it was never good enough. So he pushed himself in training despite mental and physical pain.
The 33-year-old revealed that at one point it got out of hand and he got addicted. He disclosed that although an eating disorder was never diagnosed it was there. It grew to an extent where the Finn just extensively trained himself and barely ate anything.
Valtteri Bottas explains how he’s helped with the development of the C43! 🏎️ pic.twitter.com/3mTiBHubbL
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 7, 2023
Bottas was traumatised by Jules Bianchi’s death
He didn’t tell anyone around him about his situation. The biggest blow to his health came when Bianchi passed away in a tragic racing accident in Suzuka in 2015.
Bottas did not know how to deal with the grief and just trained like a robot. This observation was made by his psychologist.
The 33-year-old further revealed that he was startled when his psychologist told him that he is almost like a robot who only wants to reach his target and had no feelings.
“At that time I indeed has no other life than F1,” he said.
Also Read: Guanyu Zhou Reveals One Thing That Helps Him Bond With Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo
