Mercedes F1 driver Valtteri Bottas is to make his debut behind the wheel of a rally car at next month’s Arctic Lapland Rally.
Bottas is to pilot an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RS WRC at the rally and will be co-driven by Timo Rautiainen, who won two titles alongside Marcus Gronholm.
The event acts as the season opener for the 2019 Finnish Rally Championship and runs from January 24 to 26.
“This is a unique opportunity to take a peek into the world of rallying, and I would like to thank everyone who has made it possible,” said Bottas.
“It’s totally new territory for me too, as I have no prior experience of a World Rally Car.
“Still, being the race car driver that I am, you always go flat out whatever the vehicle you’re driving in.”
Rautiainen added that he was tempted back into the co-driver’s seat by the challenge of providing pace notes to a Formula 1 racer.
“In my life, I’ve sat in a rally car with only three drivers, but this is such an interesting mission that I just had to accept the challenge,” he said.
“I believe that for a talented driver like Valtteri, we’ll be able to establish a good basic driving routine in testing.
“The challenging part of course will be learning the ins and outs of pace note making and learning to drive with pace notes all at once.”
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