Journalists from the official website of the championship continue a series of funny interviews with Formula 1 drivers, in which not many questions are related to motorsport, but the conversation is mainly about universal topics. This time the subject of the interview was Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas.
Q: Can you describe yourself in three words somehow?
Valtteri Bottas: Passionate, fast and relaxed.
Q: How did you fall in love with Formula 1? How did it all start?
Valtteri Bottas: It all happened in 1997 when Mika Hakkinen won his first race in the last stage of the season in Jerez. This was the famous race where Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher collided. I thought at the time: “Wow, this is something incredible!”
Q: When was the first time in your life you drove a car? Alex Albon said it happened to him when he was five years old at Disneyland, and he burst into tears.
Valtteri Bottas (laughs): I didn’t cry! I crashed on the first lap, my very first lap. I was five years old at the time and it happened in my hometown Lahti in Finland.
Question: Since when did you pass the driving license exam?
Valtteri Bottas: From the first! It was easy. Theory and practical exam. No problem! I even passed my truck driving license the first time.
Q: Awesome! If you had your own professional cycling team, which two current Formula 1 drivers would you invite?
Valtteri Bottas: Good question. Obviously I would take people with cycling experience. I would probably invite Carlos Sainz because he likes cycling. Then I would choose the experienced Fernando Alonso.
Question: What would you choose: quitting coffee or giving up your bike?
Valtteri Bottas: Terrible question! Wow… It would be a hard life, but if I had to give up one thing… You know, I’m addicted to both coffee and cycling, so… I’ll probably give up coffee and try replacing it with tea. Or something with caffeine!
Q: Who is your best friend in the paddock?
Valtteri Bottas: In the paddock, my best friend is my teammate Guanyu Zhou.
Q: And outside the paddock?
Valtteri Bottas: Outside the paddock… I have a few good friends in Finland who we’ve been friends with since school. It’s just a few people and we’re still in touch.
Q: Which three people from the world of Formula 1, past or present, would you invite to dinner and who would they be?
Valtteri Bottas: Definitely Mika Hakkinen, because he is a good joker, especially when he is in the mood! Then I would invite Daniel Ricciardo, with him it is always fun. And from the past, which is unfortunately impossible, I would like to invite Niki Lauda to come and have dinner with him again.
Q: If you were to organize your dream team, which riders would you invite? Alex said he would be a racer and team leader himself. You can do this too.
Valtteri Bottas: Actually a good option! I will be number one and leader, so the best parts will be on my car! Then I would choose Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Q: If you could put together a musical group from the racers, who would you invite and what would it be called?
Valtteri Bottas: I would choose Yuki Tsunoda and Zhou because they both go to karaoke. They sang a duet. Then I would ask someone to play drums and guitar.
Q: Ricciardo was mentioned several times in the answer to this question.
Valtteri Bottas: No! I would take Lewis. He loves music, so he could mix for us. It would make a good group.
Q: Did you have any experience of musical interaction with Lewis when you were teammates at Mercedes?
Valtteri Bottas: He likes to compose his own music. He also sings well. These three would be in my group!
Q: What would be the name of the group?
Valtteri Bottas: Let me think… The Speedsters.
Q: What is your favorite dish?
Valtteri Bottas: To start with, I prefer Finnish creamy salmon soup, which goes well with gluten-free bread. I don’t eat gluten.
Main course… Sorry if I offend anyone, but I choose venison stew. It’s very Finnish. Highly recommended if you’re not vegan! For dessert there are only berries, Finnish berries.
Q: What would you wash it all down with? Coffee?
Valtteri Bottas: No, the main drink would be red wine from South Australia.
Q: What was the best advice you ever received?
Valtteri Bottas: Pretty simple advice: never give up. My parents always told me this. If you want to achieve something, the recipe is simple: don’t give up.
Q: What was the worst advice?
Valtteri Bottas: I don’t think there is worse advice. I think it’s always good to listen to advice, but it’s important to filter it. Throughout my career, especially as Formula 1 got closer, I got a lot of pats on the back and advice, but it had to be filtered. I can’t just pick one.
Q: What’s the strangest gift you’ve received from a fan?
Valtteri Bottas: Usually, most gifts are given in Asian countries. I once got some kind of food, but I didn’t understand what it was. Sometimes I still think, “What was that?” It was a transparent plastic bag with some kind of food. But I didn’t understand if it was insects or candy.
Q: Have you tried it?
Valtteri Bottas: No, I haven’t tried it! This remains a mystery.
Q: If you had the chance to try yourself in another profession for a day, what would you choose?
Valtteri Bottas: I would go into space and become an astronaut for a day!
Q: What is your proudest achievement in Formula 1?
Valtteri Bottas: My first victory in Russia in 2017. It still stands apart. It felt unreal and it took me a few days to sink in. A childhood dream came true. I still smile when I think about that victory.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring racers?
Valtteri Bottas: I think they need to be prepared for the fact that they have a difficult path ahead of them. You have to do your best, and you have to have the right people around you, the right support. Sometimes it’s not easy to find such people, but you have to keep believing. If you don’t believe, you won’t succeed. Dream big and go for it.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Valtteri Bottas: In five years I will be 39. I will probably still be racing, but for which team? Let’s see!
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
