Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish racing driver who twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship in 2019 and 2020 with Mercedes.
| Nationality | Finnish |
|---|---|
| Born | Valtteri Viktor Bottas 28 August 1989 Nastola, Finland |
Before joining Sauber he had his most successful F1 stint as a Mercedes driver from 2017 to 2021 and for Williams from 2013 to 2016 with an impressive record of 10 race wins and 67 podiums to his name. He was also a key to Mercedes’ five Constructors’ Championship wins.
Bottas’ journey to F1 began in karting, and various single-seater championships, such as the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, Formula Renault Eurocup, and the Formula Renault Northern European Cup, emerging as the 2008 championship winner in the latter two.
In 2009, Bottas joined the Formula 3 Euroseries and finished third in the championship. He also won the prestigious Masters of Formula 3 event.
Bottas began his Formula One career with Williams in 2013 after spending two years as the team’s test driver, partnering with Pastor Maldonado in his debut season. The 2014 season was a breakthrough year for him and the team, as Bottas finished fourth in the 2014 Drivers’ Championship, securing his maiden career podium at the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix. Over his four seasons with Williams, Bottas finished on the podium nine times and helped the team finish third in the Constructors’ Championship in both 2014 and 2015.
In 2017, Bottas was called up to Mercedes to replace the retiring Nico Rosberg, joining forces with Lewis Hamilton. He quickly adapted to the new team, taking his first pole position in Bahrain and securing his maiden career win at the 2017 Russian Grand Prix. Bottas ended his first season with three wins and a third-place finish in the championship. Although 2018 proved to be a winless campaign, Bottas rebounded in 2019, finishing runner-up to Hamilton in the 2019 Drivers’ Championship after winning four races, including the season-opening 2019 Australian Grand Prix. In 2020, Bottas again finished second to Hamilton, helping Mercedes’ to the 2020 Constructors’ Championship. Bottas took his final victory for Mercedes at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix before departing the team at the end of the season. Over his five seasons with Mercedes, Bottas helped the team win five consecutive Constructors’ titles and achieved a total of 10 race wins, 20 pole positions, and 58 podiums.
Bottas joined Alfa Romeo in 2022, stepping into a new role as team leader after five years with Mercedes. Alfa Romeo offered a fresh challenge for Bottas, as he aimed to help the team move up the grid. Despite the car’s limitations compared to his previous team, Bottas secured valuable points for the team. In 2024, the team rebranded as Sauber, and Bottas continued to race under the new name for the full season. However, neither Bottas nor his 2024 teammate Zhou Guanyu remained with the team after the season eneded. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were signed to join the Swiss squad for the 2025 F1 season, preparing for Sauber’s transition to Audi ownership. This ended an illustrious career for Bottas in F1, where he collected 10 career wins, 20 pole positions, 19 fastest laps, and 67 podiums in Formula One.
In 2025, Bottas would assume a reserve role at Mercedes, returning to the team he left at the end of 2021.
Valtteri Bottas Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2013–2024 |
|---|---|
| 2024 team | Williams, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Sauber |
| Car number | 77 |
| Entries | 247 (246 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Podiums | 67 |
| Career points | 1797 |
| Pole positions | 20 |
| Fastest laps | 19 |
| First entry | 2013 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2017 Russian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2021 Turkish Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Valtteri Bottas teammates
| 11 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pastor Maldonado | 34 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Bruno Senna | 15 | 2012 | |
| Felipe Massa | 59 | 2014 | 2016 |
| Felipe Nasr | 5 | 2014 | |
| Susie Wolff | 3 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 100 | 2017 | 2021 |
| George Russell | 1 | 2020 | |
| Zhou Guanyu | 68 | 2022 | 2024 |
| Robert Kubica | 4 | 2022 | |
| Théo Pourchaire | 3 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Robert Shwartzman | 2 | 2024 |
Race Wins
| No. | Race |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 Russian Grand Prix |
| 2 | 2017 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 3 | 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| 4 | 2019 Australian Grand Prix |
| 5 | 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
| 6 | 2019 Japanese Grand Prix |
| 7 | 2019 United States Grand Prix |
| 8 | 2020 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 9 | 2020 Russian Grand Prix |
| 10 | 2021 Turkish Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Williams F1 Team | Williams FW34 | Renault RS27-2012 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL TD | CHN TD | BHR TD | ESP TD | MON | CAN | EUR TD | GBR TD | GER TD | HUN TD | BEL TD | ITA TD | SIN | JPN TD | KOR TD | IND TD | ABU TD | USA | BRA TD | – | – | ||||
| 2013 | Williams F1 Team | Williams FW35 | Renault RS27-2013 2.4 V8 | AUS 14 | MAL 11 | CHN 13 | BHR 14 | ESP 16 | MON 12 | CAN 14 | GBR 12 | GER 16 | HUN Ret | BEL 15 | ITA 15 | SIN 13 | KOR 12 | JPN 17 | IND 16 | ABU 15 | USA 8 | BRA Ret | 17th | 4 | |||||
| 2014 | Williams Martini Racing | Williams FW36 | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS 5 | MAL 8 | BHR 8 | CHN 7 | ESP 5 | MON Ret | CAN 7 | AUT 3 | GBR 2 | GER 2 | HUN 8 | BEL 3 | ITA 4 | SIN 11 | JPN 6 | RUS 3 | USA 5 | BRA 10 | ABU 3 | 4th | 186 | |||||
| 2015 | Williams Martini Racing | Williams FW37 | Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS DNS | MAL 5 | CHN 6 | BHR 4 | ESP 4 | MON 14 | CAN 3 | AUT 5 | GBR 5 | HUN 13 | BEL 9 | ITA 4 | SIN 5 | JPN 5 | RUS 12 † | USA Ret | MEX 3 | BRA 5 | ABU 13 | 5th | 136 | |||||
| 2016 | Williams Martini Racing | Williams FW38 | Mercedes PU106C Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS 8 | BHR 9 | CHN 10 | RUS 4 | ESP 5 | MON 12 | CAN 3 | EUR 6 | AUT 9 | GBR 14 | HUN 9 | GER 9 | BEL 8 | ITA 6 | SIN Ret | MAL 5 | JPN 10 | USA 16 | MEX 8 | BRA 11 | ABU Ret | 8th | 85 | |||
| 2017 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes AMG W08 | Mercedes M08 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 3 | CHN 6 | BHR 3 | RUS 1 | ESP Ret | MON 4 | CAN 2 | AZE 2 | AUT 1 | GBR 2 | HUN 3 | BEL 5 | ITA 2 | SIN 3 | MAL 5 | JPN 4 | USA 5 | MEX 2 | BRA 2 | ABU 1 | 3rd | 305 | ||||
| 2018 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes AMG W09 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 8 | BHR 2 | CHN 2 | AZE 14 † | ESP 2 | MON 5 | CAN 2 | FRA 7 | AUT Ret | GBR 4 | GER 2 | HUN 5 | BEL 4 | ITA 3 | SIN 4 | RUS 2 | JPN 2 | USA 5 | MEX 5 | BRA 5 | ABU 5 | 5th | 247 | |||
| 2019 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes AMG W10 | Mercedes M10 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 1 | BHR 2 | CHN 2 | AZE 1 | ESP 2 | MON 3 | CAN 4 | FRA 2 | AUT 3 | GBR 2 | GER Ret | HUN 8 | BEL 3 | ITA 2 | SIN 5 | RUS 2 | JPN 1 | MEX 3 | USA 1 | BRA Ret | ABU 4 | 2nd | 326 | |||
| 2020 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes AMG W11 | Mercedes M11 EQ Performance 1.6 V6 t | AUT 1 | STY 2 | HUN 3 | GBR 11 | 70A 3 | ESP 3 | BEL 2 | ITA 5 | TUS 2 | RUS 1 | EIF Ret | POR 2 | EMI 2 | TUR 14 | BHR 8 | SKH 8 | ABU 2 | 2nd | 223 | |||||||
| 2021 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | Mercedes AMG W12 | Mercedes M12 E Performance 1.6 V6 t | BHR 3 | EMI Ret | POR 3 | ESP 3 | MON Ret | AZE 12 | FRA 4 | STY 3 | AUT 2 | GBR 3 3 | HUN Ret | BEL 12 | NED 3 | ITA 3 1 | RUS 5 | TUR 1 | USA 6 | MXC 15 | SAP 3 1 | QAT Ret | SAU 3 | ABU 6 | 3rd | 226 | ||
| 2022 | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen | Alfa Romeo C42 | Ferrari 066/7 1.6 V6 t | BHR 6 | SAU Ret | AUS 8 | EMI 5 7 | MIA 7 | ESP 6 | MON 9 | AZE 11 | CAN 7 | GBR Ret | AUT 11 | FRA 14 | HUN 20† | BEL Ret | NED Ret | ITA 13 | SIN 11 | JPN 15 | USA Ret | MXC 10 | SAP 9 | ABU 15 | 10th | 49 | ||
| 2023 | Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake | Alfa Romeo C43 | Ferrari 066/10 1.6 V6 t | BHR 8 | SAU 18 | AUS 11 | AZE 18 | MIA 13 | MON 11 | ESP 19 | CAN 10 | AUT 15 | GBR 12 | HUN 12 | BEL 12 | NED 14 | ITA 10 | SIN Ret | JPN Ret | QAT 8 | USA 12 | MXC 15 | SAP Ret | LVG 17 | ABU 19 | 15th | 10 | ||
| 2024 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Kick Sauber C44 | Ferrari 066/12 1.6 V6 t | BHR 19 | SAU 17 | AUS 14 | JPN 14 | CHN Ret | MIA 16 | EMI 18 | MON 13 | CAN 13 | ESP 16 | AUT 16 | GBR 15 | HUN 16 | BEL 15 | NED 19 | ITA 16 | AZE 16 | SIN 16 | USA 17 | MXC 14 | SAP 13 | LVG 18 | QAT 11 | ABU Ret | 22nd | 0 |
