Valtteri Bottas admitted on the My Big Break podcast that he nearly retired from Formula 1 in 2018 when he realized he couldn’t challenge Lewis Hamilton…
Valtteri Bottas: “At the end of 2018 I was very close to ending my career. I couldn’t accept the fact that I couldn’t beat Lewis in two years. I was very worried and put a lot of pressure on myself. When I actually became a copilot at the end of 2018, I couldn’t stand it. It really wasn’t easy for me.
I have decided to end my career. The human mind is strange. Sometimes you find yourself in a crisis and lose the joy of what it brought before. I have lost the joy of Formula 1 and Formula 1 racing.
At that time I was angry with Formula 1, but I just needed some rest. When I thought about the situation as a whole, I said to myself that this is a cool sport, that I have a lot of opportunities in front of me.
Looking back I understand it was a nice school, I learned a lot about myself, I learned to let go of myself, not to be too hard on myself. I learned a lot and am very glad it happened.
To those who experience such moments, I want to say that you should look at life as a whole. If you feel anxious, take a step back. If you don’t give up in that moment, you can achieve a lot.”
Source: F1 News

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