159 Facts About Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas won his first championship at the Formula Renault NEC in 2008, winning the Formula Renault Eurocup by three points to Daniel Ricciardo, both with Motopark.

Valtteri Bottas then won the Masters of Formula 3 back-to-back in 2009 and 2010 with ART, before winning the GP3 Series in 2011.

Across four seasons at Williams, Valtteri Bottas finished on the podium nine times.

Valtteri Bottas signed for Mercedes in 2017, replacing the retiring Nico Rosberg to partner Lewis Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas took his maiden pole position in Bahrain and his maiden win in Russia, finishing third in the championship following further victories in Austria and Abu Dhabi.

Valtteri Bottas took his final win for Mercedes at the Turkish Grand Prix in 2021, leaving at the end of the season after contributing to five consecutive World Constructors' Championships.

Valtteri Bottas joined Alfa Romeo in 2022, retaining his seat for his 2023 campaign.

Valtteri Bottas achieved 10 race wins, 20 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 67 podiums in Formula One.

Valtteri Bottas holds the Formula One record for the most career points without a World Drivers' Championship.

Valtteri Viktor Bottas was born on 28 August 1989 in Nastola, Finland, to Rauno Bottas and Marianne Valimaa.

Valtteri Bottas's father owns a small cleaning company, and his mother is an undertaker.

Valtteri Bottas studied automotive engineering in a vocational school in Heinola and graduated as an auto mechanic.

Valtteri Bottas completed mandatory military service in the Finnish Defence Forces Sports School in Lahti.

Valtteri Bottas's racing hero while growing up was compatriot Mika Hakkinen.

Valtteri Bottas won both the 2008 Formula Renault Eurocup and the 2008 Formula Renault Northern European Cup.

Valtteri Bottas would have won the 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Series, had he been holding an MSA-registered licence for the championship.

Valtteri Bottas moved up into the Formula Three Euroseries for the 2009 season, competing for reigning champions ART Grand Prix.

In June 2009, Valtteri Bottas won the 2009 Masters of Formula 3, claiming the pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race.

Valtteri Bottas was signed as the official Formula One test driver for the Williams team in January 2010 after his first year in the Formula 3 Euro Series.

Valtteri Bottas conducted straight-line aerodynamic testing in the team's FW32 during the year.

Valtteri Bottas continued in the role for 2011 and took part in his first full test in November, driving the FW33 in the post-season young drivers' test at Yas Marina Circuit.

Valtteri Bottas's role was expanded in 2012 after his GP3 Series victory; he took part in fifteen Friday practice sessions, making his Grand Prix weekend debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

In November 2012 it was announced that Valtteri Bottas would replace Bruno Senna and partner Pastor Maldonado as a full-time Williams race driver for the 2013 season.

Valtteri Bottas improved from 18th on the grid to 11th at the finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix, 1.5 seconds behind a points-paying position.

Valtteri Bottas was unable to hold the position in the race and dropped to 14th at the finish line.

Valtteri Bottas later stated that "the car pace was just not there" and that he believed the result would have been the same regardless of the team's strategy.

Valtteri Bottas collided with Hamilton whilst unlapping himself at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, later stating he was unaware Hamilton was a lap ahead.

Valtteri Bottas ended his debut season 17th in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring four of Williams's five points.

Valtteri Bottas was retained by Williams for the 2014 season, partnering Felipe Massa who was signed from Ferrari.

At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas started fifteenth due to a gearbox change penalty and clipped the wall causing a tyre puncture in the race, but recovered to sixth at the finish and was later promoted to fifth after Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification.

Valtteri Bottas received another grid penalty and started 18th at the next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, for impeding Ricciardo in qualifying, but gained places to finish eighth.

Valtteri Bottas matched his best grid position at the Bahrain Grand Prix, starting third, but dropped to eighth at the finish.

Valtteri Bottas praised the team's updates to his FW36 after finishing fifth at the Spanish Grand Prix and felt that the team now had the third-fastest car, however this was followed by 13th place in qualifying and an engine failure at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas was in second place on the opening lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, but lost positions due to unfortunate safety car timing and a slow pit stop.

Valtteri Bottas finished third behind Massa at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Williams's first double-podium since the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas claimed six podium finishes and scored 186 points to Massa's 134, securing Williams third place in the World Constructors' Championship, and qualified ahead of Massa at thirteen of the nineteen races.

Valtteri Bottas returned to racing at the Malaysian Grand Prix where he started ninth and recovered from a poor start to finish fifth.

Valtteri Bottas scored points at the following three races including fourth-place finishes at the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix, but failed to score at the Monaco Grand Prix after qualifying 17th.

Valtteri Bottas later commented that he "would have been able to pull a gap" had Massa conceded his position, but the two ultimately dropped back to fourth and fifth by the end.

Valtteri Bottas was on course to finish third at the Russian Grand Prix before Raikkonen collided with him on the final lap of the race.

Raikkonen received a penalty for the collision but was unapologetic, and Valtteri Bottas described the incident as "disappointing".

Valtteri Bottas ended his third year in Formula One fifth in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring 136 points to Massa's 121 and helping Williams retain third place in the World Constructors' Championship.

Valtteri Bottas was judged to have caused a lap-one collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain Grand Prix and received a drive-through penalty; he started sixth and finished ninth.

Valtteri Bottas scored more points at the following three races and achieved his best qualifying performance of the season at the Russian Grand Prix, starting third and finishing fourth.

Valtteri Bottas claimed the team's only podium finish of 2016 at the Canadian Grand Prix; he qualified seventh but executed a one-stop strategy and climbed to third at the finish.

Valtteri Bottas started sixth at the British Grand Prix but a spin dropped him outside the points.

Valtteri Bottas scored points at the following four races, including sixth place at the Italian Grand Prix, but retired from the Singapore Grand Prix after picking up a puncture and encountering issues with his seatbelt and gearbox.

Valtteri Bottas finished the season eighth in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring 85 points to Massa's 53 and qualifying ahead of his teammate at seventeen of the twenty-one races.

Valtteri Bottas was set to remain at Williams for a fifth year, with the team announcing a 2017 lineup of Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll in November 2016.

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams commented that she did not want to "stand in the way" of Valtteri Bottas driving for a championship-contending team.

Valtteri Bottas was able to continue after a first-lap collision with Raikkonen and Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix, but later retired from third place with an engine failure.

Valtteri Bottas took pole and victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after holding off Vettel towards the end of the race, placing him only 15 points behind Hamilton in the championship.

Valtteri Bottas gave up third place at the Hungarian Grand Prix to allow Hamilton to attack the Ferraris ahead, but an ultimately-unsuccessful Hamilton later returned the position to Bottas on the final lap.

Valtteri Bottas started fourth at the Italian Grand Prix, qualifying more than two seconds slower than pole-sitter Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas finished off the podium for the next three races while Hamilton claimed two wins and a second place, but his performances helped Mercedes clinch their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship at the United States Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas returned to the podium at the Mexican Grand Prix, starting fourth but benefiting from contact between Vettel and Hamilton to finish second.

Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position again at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and went on to achieve his third Grand Prix victory.

Valtteri Bottas finished third overall in the World Drivers' Championship with 305 points, compared to 363 for teammate and champion Hamilton, and qualified ahead of Hamilton at six of the nineteen races.

In September 2017, Mercedes announced that Valtteri Bottas would remain with the team for the 2018 season.

Valtteri Bottas started 15th at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after crashing in qualifying and taking a gearbox penalty, but recovered to score points in eighth place.

Valtteri Bottas overtook Raikkonen at the start and finished less than a second behind race winner Vettel.

Vettel accepted responsibility for the collision, and Valtteri Bottas remarked that the race "sums up my season so far".

Valtteri Bottas took his first pole position of the year at the Austrian Grand Prix but lost the lead to Hamilton on the first lap and then retired with a gearbox failure.

Valtteri Bottas challenged Hamilton for the lead at the German Grand Prix but was ordered by Mercedes to "hold position" and finish second.

Valtteri Bottas was running in second place in the closing laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix, but dropped to fifth after making contact with Vettel and Ricciardo in separate incidents.

Valtteri Bottas commented that the description was hurtful and that he would discuss the situation with team management.

Valtteri Bottas started 17th at the Belgian Grand Prix due to a power unit components penalty but recovered to fourth place in the race.

Valtteri Bottas was promoted to the podium at the Italian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen received a penalty for colliding with him.

Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position at the Russian Grand Prix but was ordered by Mercedes to concede his position to Hamilton during the race.

Hamilton later indicated that he was unhappy with the order, but Wolff remarked that maximising Hamilton's championship points was the "harsh reality", with Valtteri Bottas commenting "Lewis is fighting for the drivers' championship and I'm not".

Valtteri Bottas became the first Mercedes driver to finish a season without a win since Michael Schumacher in 2012, and set a record for the most second-place finishes in a season without a win.

Valtteri Bottas finished fifth overall in the World Drivers' Championship with 247 points, whilst teammate Hamilton won his fifth world title with 408 points.

Valtteri Bottas described 2018 as his worst season in Formula One, and later revealed that he almost retired from the sport at the end of the season, stating "I lost the joy of F1".

In July 2018, Valtteri Bottas signed a contract extension with Mercedes for the 2019 season with an option for 2020, continuing alongside Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas went on to win the race by over 20 seconds ahead of Hamilton, his fourth Grand Prix victory.

Valtteri Bottas finished second behind Hamilton at the Bahrain Grand Prix after race leader Charles Leclerc slowed with engine issues and dropped behind the Mercedes drivers.

Valtteri Bottas took pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix but lost the position to Hamilton at the start, who led the entire race distance to win.

Valtteri Bottas took his third consecutive pole at the Spanish Grand Prix but was overtaken by Hamilton at the first corner and finished second, achieving Mercedes' fifth one-two finish in a row.

Valtteri Bottas finished third at the Austrian Grand Prix, ahead of Hamilton for the first time since Azerbaijan, but failed to convert pole position into victory at the British Grand Prix after Hamilton took advantage of a safety car to jump ahead of Bottas in the pit stop phase.

Valtteri Bottas crashed out from fourth place in the closing laps of the German Grand Prix, and front-wing damage from contact with Leclerc resulted in an eighth-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix whilst Hamilton claimed victory, leaving Bottas 62 points behind in the championship ahead of the summer break.

Valtteri Bottas crashed heavily in qualifying at the Mexican Grand Prix and started sixth, but recovered to third place in the race.

Valtteri Bottas claimed victory from pole at the United States Grand Prix, however this was insufficient to prevent race runner-up Hamilton from mathematically securing the championship with two races remaining.

Valtteri Bottas retired from fifth place with an engine failure at the Brazilian Grand Prix and ended the season with a fourth-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after starting from the back of the grid.

Valtteri Bottas finished the season in second place in the World Drivers' Championship with 326 points to Hamilton's 413.

Valtteri Bottas recorded four wins, fifteen podium finishes, five pole positions and three fastest laps, making 2019 his most successful year at Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas was rated the fourth-best driver of the season in a poll of the Formula One team principals.

On his season, Valtteri Bottas commented "I've not been able to be at my very, very best every single race, but much more often than ever before", and praised Hamilton's consistency.

Valtteri Bottas continued driving at Mercedes alongside Hamilton for 2020, having agreed to a one-year extension to his contract during the 2019 season.

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time in pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Valtteri Bottas took pole position at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and led the race from start to finish.

Valtteri Bottas was able to recover to third place by the end of the Grand Prix but lost the lead of the championship to race-winner Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas ran closely behind Hamilton for most of the race but fell back in the closing laps before suffering a tyre failure with four laps remaining.

Valtteri Bottas returned to the pits for a tyre change and eventually finished 11th.

Valtteri Bottas secured pole position at the following week's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix but dropped behind Hamilton in the race, and tyre issues for the Mercedes cars allowed Max Verstappen to pass both drivers to win.

At the Tuscan Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas took the lead from pole-sitter Hamilton on the first lap.

The race was red-flagged on lap seven after a multi-car accident, and Valtteri Bottas lost the lead to Hamilton shortly after the restart and finished second.

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Eifel Grand Prix but was overtaken by Hamilton after a mistake on lap 13.

Valtteri Bottas later retired from third place with power loss, extending Hamilton's championship lead to 69 points.

Valtteri Bottas finished second at both the Portuguese and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix.

Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position at the latter, but took damage from debris in the early laps and fell to third before regaining second place when Verstappen retired with a tyre failure.

The rain continued during the race and Valtteri Bottas spun six times after damaging his front wing due to contact with the Renault of Esteban Ocon, finishing a lap behind race-winner Hamilton in 14th place.

Valtteri Bottas was joined by George Russell at Mercedes for the Sakhir Grand Prix as Hamilton was unable to race, and took pole position ahead of Russell by 0.026 seconds.

Valtteri Bottas lost positions in the closing laps to cars on fresher tyres and finished eighth.

Valtteri Bottas ended the year second in the World Drivers' Championship with 223 points to Hamilton's 347, recording two wins, five pole positions, eleven podiums, and two fastest laps.

Valtteri Bottas reflected that again finishing second to Hamilton "can't be that satisfying", but Hamilton commented that the points gap between the two was exaggerated by Bottas's misfortune.

Valtteri Bottas started and finished third at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas achieved another podium at the Spanish Grand Prix, qualifying and finishing third.

Valtteri Bottas was then forced into retirement when his team were unable to remove a wheel during his pit stop.

Valtteri Bottas went on to finish 12th, leaving him sixth in the Drivers' Championship.

Valtteri Bottas returned to the podium at the Styrian Grand Prix, finishing third despite a grid penalty for spinning in the pit lane during practice.

Valtteri Bottas started fifth at the Austrian Grand Prix but recovered to finish second, and achieved another podium finish with third place at the British Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas regained third place in the Drivers' Championship with a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, and followed this by setting the fastest qualifying time and winning the sprint qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas went on to claim his first and only victory of the year by passing Charles Leclerc for the lead after pitting, a win he described as one of his best ever.

Valtteri Bottas claimed pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix, but a slow start and contact with Daniel Ricciardo dropped him to the back.

Valtteri Bottas was later brought into the pits multiple times for soft tyres in order to deny Max Verstappen the bonus point for the fastest lap, which was successful.

Valtteri Bottas received a grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix for a yellow-flag infringement and ultimately retired from the race with puncture damage, but followed this with a podium finish at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after passing Esteban Ocon metres before the finish line.

Valtteri Bottas ended the season by qualifying and finishing sixth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas ended the season third in the World Drivers' Championship with 226 points compared to 387.5 for Hamilton, helping Mercedes to achieve an eighth consecutive World Constructors' Championship.

Valtteri Bottas reflected on his time at Mercedes, stating "I want to be able to say that I squeezed every drop out of this opportunity and left nothing on the table" and remarking that it had been a "privilege and a great sporting challenge" to work with Hamilton.

Valtteri Bottas joined Alfa Romeo for 2022 on a multi-year deal, partnering rookie driver Zhou Guanyu.

Valtteri Bottas described the move as "a bit of a project" and that he felt a "responsibility to guide the team".

Valtteri Bottas set a target of a top-five finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a result he achieved after qualifying eighth and gaining positions in the sprint and race to finish fifth despite a slow pit stop.

Valtteri Bottas held the position ahead of both Mercedes drivers until lap 50, when a mistake from Bottas allowed them to overtake.

Valtteri Bottas was eliminated in Q2 at the Canadian Grand Prix but benefited from a late-race safety car and a penalty for Fernando Alonso to be classified seventh at the finish.

Valtteri Bottas retired from ninth place at the British Grand Prix with a gearbox issue, and finished 11th at the Austrian Grand Prix despite a pit-lane start.

Valtteri Bottas experienced three consecutive retirements at the Hungarian, Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix, after which he identified reliability as an area of weakness for the C42 and commented that rival teams had out-developed Alfa Romeo.

Valtteri Bottas started seventh at the United States Grand Prix but retired after spinning into the gravel.

Valtteri Bottas returned to the points at the Mexico City Grand Prix, starting sixth and finishing tenth, followed by a ninth-place finish at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite qualifying 18th.

Valtteri Bottas ended the season 10th in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring 49 points to teammate Zhou's six points and helping Alfa Romeo achieve sixth place in the World Constructors' Championship, the Hinwil-based team's best result since finishing sixth in 2012.

Valtteri Bottas described his season as "probably the most enjoyable so far", citing the security of his long-term contract and the more "relaxed" environment compared to that of Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas continued driving for Alfa Romeo with Zhou for 2023.

Valtteri Bottas started the season by qualifying 12th and finishing eighth at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas started from the pit lane and benefited from eight drivers' retirements at the Australian Grand Prix, but scored no points in 11th place.

Valtteri Bottas reached Q3 at the Miami Grand Prix for the first time that year but finished outside the points.

Valtteri Bottas's car broke down in qualifying at the British Grand Prix and he was later disqualified from the session for an insufficient fuel sample.

Valtteri Bottas recovered from 20th on the grid to 12th in the race.

Valtteri Bottas reached Q3 again at the Mexico City Grand Prix but finished outside the points after colliding with Lance Stroll.

Valtteri Bottas started seventh at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but a lap-one collision with Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso left him with damage and he went on to finish 17th.

Valtteri Bottas ended the season 15th in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring ten points to Zhou's six, with Alfa Romeo finishing ninth of the ten teams in the World Constructors' Championship.

Valtteri Bottas made his first Q3 appearance of 2024 at the Chinese Grand Prix, qualifying 10th, but retired from the race with an engine failure, marking his first retirement of the season.

Valtteri Bottas managed to drive the car into Q2 at Hunagry, Belgium, Mexico and Qatar.

The car began showing some signs of performance in the last few races of the season, with the team eyeing points at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but those hopes were shot down when Valtteri Bottas received a 5-place grid penalty for exceeding his power unit allotment.

Valtteri Bottas managed another Q3 appearance at the season finale in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but had a first lap collision with Sergio Perez, earning himself a 10-second penalty, which effectively ended his chance for a top-10 finish.

In December 2024, it was announced that Valtteri Bottas would be re-joining Mercedes as a reserve driver for 2025.

In January 2019, Valtteri Bottas took part in the Arctic Rally, recording a stage win and finishing fifth overall.

In 2020, Valtteri Bottas again participated in the Arctic Lapland Rally, where he drove a Citroen DS3 WRC car and finished ninth.

Valtteri Bottas later partook in an Extreme E test in October 2020, alongside Jean-Eric Vergne and Sebastien Loeb.

In January 2021, Valtteri Bottas competed in his third Arctic Lapland Rally.

Valtteri Bottas scored a class podium and finished sixth overall.

Valtteri Bottas was set to make his Race of Champions debut in 2022, partnering two-time Formula One champion Mika Hakkinen.

Valtteri Bottas then competed at the 2023 edition of the event alongside Hakkinen.

In March 2021, Valtteri Bottas became a co-owner of ice hockey team Lahti Pelicans of Finland's Liiga when he bought a 10 percent stake in the team.

In 2023, ahead of that year's Australian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas announced a collaboration with coffee brand ST.

Valtteri Bottas is a co-founder and partner of FNLD GRVL, a gravel cycling event in Lahti, Finland, which he organises alongside his girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell and American cyclist Amy Charity of SBT GRVL.

Valtteri Bottas finished in 134th place out of 233 entries.

Valtteri Bottas again worked with Ripke in 2023 to create a nude calendar, titled BOTTASS 2024, which raised $150,000 for men's health organisation Movember.

On 11 September 2016, Valtteri Bottas married his long-time girlfriend, Emilia Pikkarainen, a fellow Finn and an Olympic swimmer whom he had been dating since 2010.

On 28 November 2019, Valtteri Bottas announced their separation and divorce, citing the "challenges my career and life situation bring".

Since February 2020, Valtteri Bottas has been in a relationship with Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.