Type to Search
CLEAR SEARCH
Afghanistan
NEWS
F1 2019 GOES HOT: FIRST BLOOD FOR BOTTAS
Mar 172019
"To whom it may concern; f*** you!”, shouted Bottas into his helmet mic as he took the chequered flag at Albert Park. It was for good reason too. The usually softly-spoken and mild-mannered Valtteri Bottas had something to get off his chest after his victory in the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race to the Formula One season.
It was passionate. Somewhat unusual and out of character, perhaps. Or Perhaps not. For this is not the old Valtteri Bottas. This is Valtteri Bottas, version number 2019, and he means business.
For background; when the F1 season usually finishes in December, drivers spend the winter with their families before steadily upping their training programme to be ready and fit in time for the pre-season tests in Barcelona in mid-February.
It's a standard procedure and there is a seemingly endless stream of Instagram images of gym sessions and cycle rides around the hills of Monte Carlo. But there was a notable difference to Valtteri's winter break as the frustration of a winless 2018 burned deep within the Finn.
After letting off steam with some friends in Helsinki, and a trip to Chile, Valtteri competed in a winter rally. It all looked rather spectacular but as he quickly got up to speed with power-slides through the snow, beneath his visor there was the germination of the focus that he hoped would reinvigorate his F1 career.
