Valtteri Bottas explores new interests, hinting at a possible F1 retirement strategy.
Since his move from Mercedes F1 to Sauber, Valtteri Bottas appears to have transformed: relaxed to the point of being carefree, the Finnish driver, now sporting a mullet, has switched to ‘chill mode’.
This shift, however, is strictly off the track, as on the circuit, he has been explosive this year in qualifiers against Guanyu Zhou, leading their internal duel at Stake by 13 to 1.
Was Valtteri Bottas confined in a media cage at Mercedes F1? Did leaving such a ‘corporate’ team act as a catalyst for his personality?
“It wasn’t an overnight change,” he shared with Crash. “It just started happening. I think it’s a change of atmosphere, with a different teammate.”
“For the first time, there was some stability in the sport for me. And being more mature, that plays a role. Understanding how the world works, how F1 works.”
“I began to feel more comfortable with myself and allowed myself to laugh at myself and have some fun.”
“And I really understood that in life, not everything has to be so serious. I’ve become more confident, more comfortable with myself, and I started to laugh.”
A symbol of this mental shift in Valtari Bottas is certainly his now iconic and anachronistic mullet in the paddock…
“At first, it was kind of a joke. Because in 2022, my hair was getting quite long as it was the end of the season and I hadn’t had time to go to the barber.”
“So I joked to Tiffany (his Australian partner) saying, ‘When we go back to Australia, I’ll get a mullet cut.’ She said ‘yeah, ok.’ Then I knew a local videographer and I asked him, ‘Let’s see if this can be fun, come film.'”
“It went viral and stuck. Then I thought the mullets-mustaches combo was quite cool. Very Australian. A trademark.”
Online, Valtteri Bottas and his derrière have also become genuine stars…
“On social media, I handle everything myself and if something funny happens, I try to share it. People like normal and silly things.”
“There aren’t many super planned things. Usually, with me, things just happen, and that’s what’s fun.”
But Valtteri Bottas is a serious man when it comes to investing. He has put some of his earnings into his three passions: coffee, gin, and wine. He holds a 20% stake in Kahiwa Coffee, a local roastery in his hometown of Lahti, and has launched his own brands of wine (Ihana) and gin (Oath).
“The things I’m involved in are mainly passion projects and I don’t want to lose money – ideally, we’ll make some in the future.”
“But it’s primarily about passion. That’s why it’s nice to work on these projects when you’re really interested. So, it’s quite good. We have a good base for the moment when racing stops for me. One day, everything should work out well.”
“With coffee and gin, I can somewhat choose my workload. Obviously, during the season, it’s more challenging.”
“But I have people who assist me, so I can choose when I feel the need to work on other things, I can really focus on those. But I can also set it aside for many weeks, and there are people who help me do that.”
Is a well-prepared future in sight should F1 retirement come?
The future of Valtteri Bottas, off the track, is thus secured. However, for now, Bottas still hopes to convince Stake/Audi to extend his contract for 2025 and beyond.
If he does not get what he desires, will Valtteri Bottas decide to retire and devote himself to business? Moreover, having all these side activities waiting, isn’t that an argument for retirement?
“It’s certain that I know racing will eventually end for me, I won’t be left in the void, I have things that will keep me busy, but that’s not the main reason I do all this. It’s simply because I want to do these things.”
“Like in any sport, you want to have something you can start working on when it ends. But that time has not come for me yet…”
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Bottas: Business Moves a Prelude to F1 Exit? Bottas: Business Moves a Prelude to F1 Exit?
