Valtteri Bottas is one of those drivers who still doesn’t have a contract for next year, with his current deal with Sauber expiring at the end of 2024. At the same time, there are fewer and fewer vacancies at the teams: formally, they remain at Mercedes, Visa RB, Alpine and the aforementioned Sauber.
The first two should be excluded from this list, however, as the Finn is not welcome there. In particular, he said about a month ago that he had a conversation with Toto Wolff, but in theory Mercedes could only offer a one-year contract, and according to Valtteri, he is not interested in this.
That leaves Alpine and the Hinvil team, who have either not yet made their choice or are in no hurry to make it known. Either way, it doesn’t seem that Bottas is particularly concerned about the unresolved issue of continued employment, and he is spending his summer vacation in northern Europe rather quietly.
First, he shared on social networks beautiful photos taken somewhere in the Norwegian fjords, accompanying them with a short comment that can be interpreted as follows: “Escape to the north.” At the same time, Valtteri demonstrated his Finnish temperament, happily swimming in the sea, although the water temperature barely rose above 15-16 degrees.
From there, he and his girlfriend, Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, recently moved to their home, which is far beyond the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland in the town of Kilpisjärvi.
Where I immediately saddled up on a two-wheeled vehicle and started riding around the surrounding tundra – by the way, the sun is shining there now and it is quite warm, especially by Lapland standards.
And that Valtteri is happy with everything and sings his soul is evident from the fact that he (although not exactly) quoted the cheerful song Bicycle Race by the British group Queen: “I love riding my bike!”
Perhaps Bottas already knows something, and it is no coincidence that Günter Steiner predicts that the experienced Finn will stay at Sauber, where Nico Hulkenberg will be his new team-mate.
Whether this is true or not, we will find out later, but for now, photos of Valtteri’s bike rides bring to mind his recent interview with the championship’s official website, where, while listing his favorite dishes, he mentioned venison stew.
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.
