While yesterday all eyes were on seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, today we focus on the fellow Mercedes partner Valtteri Bottas. Bottas has managed to make his way to the top of F1, meaning he is very much considered at the peak of his career at the moment. Many do consider him to always be in the shadow of his fellow team mate Hamilton, yet there is no doubt that the Finnish driver has created a household name for himself in the sport.
Bottas will likely add to his nine career wins in the upcoming races, when lady luck knocks on his door. You can watch F1 live and get great race coverage of this racing star and you can see more analysis on him and his upcoming races. Bottas has certainly got the standings that any driver would happily grasp onto and take as their own.
How did Bottas start his career?
Bottas started his career by karting in 2001 at the young age of 12 years old. Many saw great success and potential in him, which is why he managed to compete and further his success within the European and Finnish tenure competitions, across a 5-year time scale. Even though the World Karting Championships came together in a way which was not intended he still made the appearance and put on a strong suit in the eyes of the public. He landed in position 8 for the world stage, yet was continually motivated to perform better than those around him.
After 6 victories and a high second place in karting, Bottas was able to get a seat within the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series, further partaking within the winter series within the UK. The single seater gave him his debut and became a season to always stay on record, be remembered and referred back to for career highlights to date.
He always refers to these victories as a path to winning the title. Bottas never stops and continues to fight to finish in third place overall, with two victories and a further 6 podiums to add to his career victories.
The year after these victories, Bottas got a seat higher in the game you could say. In fact, he was able to claim Formula Renault and Eurocup Formula titles, which he had to battle for greatly against a fellow F2 driver known as Daniel Ricciardo. It was an edge of 3 points that allowed him to win and finish further than that of his fellow driver Ricciardo.
The switch to ART was one of the best career decisions that Bottas managed to make for his career to date. Because the next two seasons after that, filled up his trophy cabinet, that is for sure. He managed to make two consecutive finishes in third place, within the Formula 3 series, alongside an additional to more within the Masters F3.
The GP3 was the last step for Bottas, before he could jump up to F1, having been a test driver for Williams back in the early 1010-2012 seasons, and making up to 15 practice season showcases. Four victories, in addition to seven podium stands, made him enough to get past the GP3 Championships and get a step into the F1 world.
F1 and beyond
Bottas had a first point call for the main stage after pairing up with Pastor Maldonado. However, it was not the impression the Flying Finn was hoping to make. He only managed to make four points within 19 races, during the 2013 season, and came out in eighth place overall within the USA Grand Prix. In 2014 we did see changes, with the incorporated hybrid unit, this happened to help Bottas and Williams massively and brought more podium successes, without a win for the British team sadly. Yet, this did not hamper his spirits at all. In fact, in 2014 for Williams, Bottas managed to come 4th overall, just behind Hamilton, Rosberg and Ricciardo. Despite no victories, this did put Bottas up for a point of call in filling the winning championship seat at Mercedes.
The first win came in 2017 within the Russian Grand Prix, but before this there were two podium wins after a gruelling battle within the Chinese Grand Prix. It was after this, that the victories started to pile in, one in Austria and one in Abu Dhabi, where there was a third place overall within the Driving Championships. Bottas had managed to make a great debut for the Mercedes team.
The best season came through in 2019 however, where Bottas finished at 87 points, behind Hamilton (again) and he came second within the Drivers Championship. After three overall wins and 11 podiums, Bottas had made sure to prove his value massively to Mercedes. With Hamilton, they secured the Constructors Championship without even trying.
Bottas did find himself under scrutiny due to George Russell applying pressure for a seat within the next season for Mercedes. The Britt filled in for Hamilton and he did also over perform and surpass Bottas massively, and it did not go unnoticed. While everything is still up in the air as to where and what will happen to Bottas, it is for sure he will participate within the next season. Sure, next to Hamitlon, he will never have that World Champ status, but the threat of Russell should most definitely be another concern of Bottas, when it comes to keeping the reins and staying in the eyes of the Mercedes force. Suppose time will definitely tell….
