Valtteri Bottas (born 28 August, 1989 in Nastola, Finland) is a Formula One driver for the Mercedes team. Having tested with the Williams team since 2010, Bottas was promoted to a race seat for 2013. For the 2015 season, Bottas retained his race seat at Williams, partnered by Felipe Massa. In 2017, he moved to Mercedes to replace retired and reigning world champion Nico Rosberg and partner Lewis Hamilton.[1] His first podium came in the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix. He went on to finish 4th in the Drivers' Championship in 2014. He got his first pole at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix, and his first win at the Russian Grand Prix in the same year. He took his first double at the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix.
His permanent career number is 77. Between 2017 and 2021, he was Lewis Hamilton's teammate at Mercedes. In 2022, he switched to Alfa Romeo and his teammate is Guanyu Zhou (Car number: 24).
Formula One Career[]
Before Formula One[]
In 2008, Bottas won both the Formula Renault Eurocup and the Formula Renault Northern European Cup. He then advanced to Formula Three in 2009, but was unable to win any races. He was able to set two pole positions though. He won the 2009 Masters of Formula 3 after setting the pole position and fastest lap. He repeated this win in 2010, becoming the first driver in history to win the Formula Three Masters title for two consecutive years.
In 2010, Bottas was called to Williams to fill a position as test driver. Although he would have this position for the 2010, 2011, 2012 seasons, he would also compete in and win the GP3 Series championship.
2013[]
After Bruno Senna left the sport at the end of the 2012 season, it was confirmed that Bottas would replace him on Williams for the 2013 season. He would race alongside Pastor Maldonado.
Bottas made his debut in Australia, qualifying for 16th on the grid. During the race, he lost a lap to the leaders and finished in 14th position, one position behind rookie Esteban Gutiérrez. He was not in a scoring position for that race, and was the second highest ranked rookie in that race.
At the next race in Malaysia, Bottas finished one position outside of the points. He was only 1.486 seconds behind Jean-Éric Vergne of Toro Rosso. This would be his fate for the next 15 races, finishing in the upper teens. He suffered his first career retirement in Hungary after he suffered a hydraulics failure.
He would later suffered another retirement after a collision in the final race of the season at Brazil, but not before he managed to score his first career points in the race prior. After a battle in the United States, Bottas finished 8th which earned him 4 points. These were his only career points in the 2013 season.
Bottas finished the season in 20
th position for the World Drivers' Championship, and it was confirmed that he would return to Williams for the next season.
2014[]
Personal life[]
Since 2010, Bottas had been in a relationship with Finnish swimmer Emilia Pikkarainen.[2] They were married on 11 September 2016.[3][4][5][6] On 28 November 2019, Bottas announced their divorce on Instagram.[7] He is currently dating Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.[8]
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Pts. | WDC Pos. | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | AT&T Williams | Williams-Cosworth | Test Driver | ||
2011 | AT&T Williams | Williams-Cosworth | Test Driver | ||
2012 | Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | Test Driver | ||
2013 | Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | 4 | 17th | Report |
2014 | Williams Martini Team | Williams-Mercedes | 186 | 4th | Report |
2015 | Williams Martini Team | Williams-Mercedes | 136 | 5th | Report |
2016 | Williams Martini Team | Williams-Mercedes | 85 | 8th | Report |
2017 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes | 305 | 3rd | Report |
2018 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes | 247 | 5th | Report |
2019 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes | 326 | 2nd | Report |
2020 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | 223 | 2nd | Report |
2021 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | 223 | 3rd | Report |
2022 | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 49 | 10th | Report |
2023 | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 10 | 15th | Report |
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Kick | |||||
2024 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 0 | 23rd | Report |
Career Statistics[]
Entries | 243 |
Starts | 243 |
Pole Positions | 20 |
Front Row Starts | 46 |
Race Wins | 10 |
Podiums | 67 |
Fastest Laps | 19 |
Points | 1797 |
Laps Raced | 13468 |
Distance Raced | 68,010 km (42,260 mi) |
Races Led | 38 |
Laps Led | 728 |
Distance Led | 3,829 km (2,379 mi) |
Doubles | 6 |
Hat-Tricks | 2 |
Sprint Poles | 1 |
Sprint Wins | 2 |
Sprint Podiums | 3 |
Wins[]
Records[]
- Valtteri Bottas has the record of the most consecutive appearences in Q3 during qualifying: 103. This record lasted from the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP untill the 2022 Australian GP. This incredible achievement also makes him the third driver in Formula One history to qualify into the top 10 in 100 consecutive races, being only preceeded by Ayrton Senna with 137 and Alain Prost with 109.*
*This is only counted as pure qualifying results, not taking into account grid position changes due to penalties etc.[]
Career Results[]
Complete Formula One Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts | Pos |
2012 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | TD | ||||||||||||
2013 | 4 | 17th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14th | 11th | 13th | 14th | 16th | 12th | 14th | 12th | 16th | Ret | 15th | 15th | 13th | 12th | 17th | 16th | 15th | 8th | Ret | ||||||||
2014 | 186 | 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 5th | Ret | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 8th | 3rd | 4th | 11th | 6th | 3rd | 5th | 10th | 3rd | ||||||||
2015 | 136 | 5th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
DNS | 5th | 6th | 4th | 4th | 14th | 3rd | 5th | 5th | 13th | 9th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 12th | Ret | 3rd | 5th | 13th | ||||||||
2016 | 85 | 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th | 9th | 10th | 4th | 5th | 12th | 3rd | 6th | 9th | 14th | 9th | 9th | 8th | 6th | Ret | 5th | 10th | 16th | 8th | 11th | Ret | ||||||
2017 | 305 | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd | 6th | 3rd | 1st | Ret | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | 4th | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | |||||||
2018 | 247 | 5th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th | 2nd | 2nd | 14th | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 7th | Ret | 4th | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | ||||||
2019 | 326 | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | Ret | 8th | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 1st | Ret | 4th | ||||||
2020 | 233 | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 11th | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 1st | Ret | 2nd | 2nd | 14th | 8th | 8th | 2nd | ||||||||||
2021 | 226 | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd | Ret | 3rdP | 3rd | Ret | 12th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | Ret | 12th [9] |
3rd | 3rd | 5th | 1st | 6th | 15thP | 3rdP | Ret | 3rd | 6th | |||||
2022 | 49 | 10th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th | Ret | 8th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 9th | 11th | 7th | Ret | 11th | 14th | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13th | 11th | 15th | Ret | 10th | 9th | 15th | |||||
2023 | 10 | 15th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th | 18th | 11th | 18th | 13th | C | 11th | 19th | 10th | 15th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 14th | 10th | Ret | Ret | 8th | 12th | 15th | Ret | 17th | 19th | ||||
2024 | 0 | 23rd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19th | 17th | 14th | 14th | Ret | 16th | 18th | 13th | 13th | 16th | 16th | 15th | 16th | 15th | 19th | 16th | 16th | 16th | 17th | 14th | 13th |
Key | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols |
Notes[]
- ↑ "Felipe Massa to replace Valtteri Bottas for 2017 season". Williams Grand Prix Engineering. 16 January 2017. http://www.williamsf1.com/racing/news/felipe-massa-to-replace-valtteri-bottas-for-2017-season. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (16 March 2014). "Valtteri Bottas of Williams aims to be next Flying Finn". http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19789233. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ↑ "Valtteri Bottas Twitter (8:15 AM - 11 Sep 2016 Tweet)". Twitter. 11 September 2016. https://twitter.com/ValtteriBottas/status/774989672883843072. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Emilia Bottas Twitter (8:13 AM - 11 Sep 2016 Tweet)". Twitter. 11 September 2016. https://twitter.com/EmiliaEpi/status/774989182338994176. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Glenn Dunbar Twitter (2:57 PM - 11 Sep 2016 Tweet)". Twitter. 11 September 2016. https://twitter.com/glenn_dunbar/status/775090908962426881. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "FIA Thursday press conference - Singapore". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 15 September 2016. http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/9/fia-thursday-press-conference-singapore.html. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Valtteri Bottas on Instagram: "Unfortunately I have to share you the news that the marriage between Emilia and myself has come to an end. Our ways have split because of..."". Instagram. 28 November 2019. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Z94AziFBZ/. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ↑ "Tiffany Cromwell on Instagram: "Happy Valentines Day to this amazing human..."". instagram.com. 14 February 2020. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jhJtqhtOj/. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ↑ Race stopped after 2/44 Laps. Half points awarded
V T E | Valtteri Bottas | |
---|---|---|
Seasons 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 | ||
Season Reports 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 | ||
Teams Williams (2013-2016) • Mercedes (2017-2021) • Alfa Romeo (2022-present) | ||
Teammates Pastor Maldonado (2013) • Felipe Massa (2014-2016) • Lewis Hamilton (2017-2021) • Guanyu Zhou (2022-present) | ||
Other pages Category |
V T E | |||
Drivers 2. Logan Sargeant · 23. Alexander Albon · 43. Franco Colapinto | |||
Personnel Frank Williams · Patrick Head · Pat Symonds · Mike Coughlan | |||
World Champions Alan Jones (1980) · Keke Rosberg (1982) · Nelson Piquet (1987) · Nigel Mansell (1992) · Alain Prost (1993) · Damon Hill (1996) · Jacques Villeneuve (1997) | |||
Cars March 761 · FW06 · FW07 · FW07B · FW07C · FW07D · FW08 · FW08C · FW09 · FW09B · FW10 · FW10B · FW11 · FW11B · FW12 · FW12C · FW13 · FW13B · FW14 · FW14B · FW15C · FW16 · FW16B · FW17 · FW17B · FW18 · FW19 · FW20 · FW21 · FW22 · FW23 · FW24 · FW25 · FW26 · FW27 · FW28 · FW29 · FW30 · FW31 · FW32 · FW33 · FW34 · FW35 · FW36 · FW37 · FW38 · FW40 · FW41 · FW42 · FW43 · FW43B · FW44 · FW45 · FW46 | |||
V T E | Mercedes Grand Prix | ||
---|---|---|---|
Current drivers 44. Lewis Hamilton · 63. George Russell | |||
World Champions Juan Manuel Fangio (1954, 1955) · Lewis Hamilton (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) · Nico Rosberg (2016) | |||
Former Drivers Michael Schumacher · Juan Manuel Fangio · Nico Rosberg · Valtteri Bottas · Hans Herrmann · Karl Kling · Stirling Moss · André Simon · Piero Taruffi · Hermann Lang | |||
Personnel Nick Fry · Bob Bell · Aldo Costa · Toto Wolff | |||
Former Personnel Norbert Haug · Alfred Neubauer · Max Sailer · Rudolf Uhlenhaut · Paddy Lowe | |||
Cars W154 · W196 · W01 · W02 · W03 · W04 · W05 · W06 · W07 · W08 · W09 · W10 · W11 · W12 · W13 · W14 · W15 | |||
V T E | Alfa Romeo | ||
---|---|---|---|
Personnel Ruth Buscombe · Carlo Chiti · Robert Choulet · Gioacchino Colombo · Gérard Ducarouge · Gérard Ducarouge · Eric Gandelin · Timothy Guerin · Axel Kruse · Simone Resta · Julien Simon-Chautemps · Beat Zehnder | |||
Drivers 77. Valtteri Bottas · 24. Guanyu Zhou | |||
Test Drivers Théo Pourchaire | |||
Former Drivers Luigi Fagioli · Reg Parnell · Felice Bonetto · Bruno Giacomelli · Vittorio Brambilla · Patrick Depailler · Andrea de Cesaris · Mario Andretti · Mauro Baldi · Riccardo Patrese · Eddie Cheever · Kimi Räikkönen · Antonio Giovinazzi · Robert Kubica | |||
World Champions Giuseppe Farina (1950) · Juan Manuel Fangio (1951) | |||
Alfa Romeo Cars (1950–1951, 1979–1985) 158 · 8C-308 · 159 · 177 · 179/179B/179C/179D · 182 · 183T · 184T/184TB · 185T | |||
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Cars (2019–2023) C38 · C39 · C41 · C42 · C43 | |||
Full results | |||