Bottas about psychological problems he managed to overcome

Valtteri Bottas remains Finland’s only F1 representative and it’s no surprise that he’s been in the spotlight of the Finnish press and TV as motor racing is very popular in this country and fans want to get to know their heroes better.

The MTV3 channel devoted an entire program to Bottas, in which he spoke candidly about the psychological difficulties he had to overcome in the early stages of his F1 career playing for Williams. He made his World Championship debut in 2013 after winning the junior GP3 title two years earlier before becoming a test driver and reserve driver for the Grove team in 2012.

“I trained to the point of painful sensations, and this affected my physical and psychological state,” Valtteri shared with Maria Veitola, an author and TV presenter. “I developed some kind of addiction and the situation got out of hand. Officially, I have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder, but it is clear that there were such problems.

I ate almost nothing but steamed broccoli to lose weight, and that was not good for my health. But I wanted to be the best and thought that is why it is necessary to act this way. If the team said that I should weigh 68 kg, although my natural weight is 73 kg, they were willing to achieve this by any means.

As a result, I needed the help of a psychologist to recover, and his very first conclusions were as follows: I almost turned into an insensitive robot who wants only one thing – to achieve his goal. It struck me, but at that time in my life there was really nothing but Formula 1.

Bottas later, in 2021, when his partnership with Mercedes ended, had to resort to psychological help and was unsure if he would be able to continue his F1 career at all: “That season was not easy because then the question of my future was being decided – I didn’t know which team I would play for. I had to overcome myself to seek outside help.

This is what happens when you consider yourself a tough guy who does not need help, who thinks that he can cope with everything alone – it is enough to look at yourself in the mirror. But a professional in the field of psychology knows what questions to ask, and this helps to liberate.

But I am not the only rider who occasionally faces such difficulties. It is typical of people in our profession to strive to be better than others, and it is sometimes difficult for us to accept the real state of things. It wasn’t until 2021 that I could accept that Lewis Hamilton is better than me as a driver. I always tried to find a way to beat him and become world champion. After five years with Mercedes, I was psychologically exhausted. I wanted to win right away, but since that didn’t happen, it was hard to accept.”

However, now that Valtteri plays for Alfa Romeo, where he actually became the leader of the team, he works much more calmly. While this is a mid-level team with limited options, Bottas has been able to perform well at times and is looking to do more in 2023.