Back from 5 years spent in Mercedes alongside ‘his majesty’ Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas is now ready to try his hand at a completely different adventure. The Finn from Nastola will make his debut in 2022 at the wheel of theAlfa Romeo. His goal will be to revive the fortunes of the team from Hinwil, who fell to ninth place in the constructors’ classification last year, surprisingly overtaken by Williams as well. Forced to leave Brackley’s team after Toto Wolff’s choice to bet his chips for the future on the young British talent George Russell, Bottas found himself having to look for another accommodation in the Circus.
In the end, the choice fell on the house of the Biscione, directed by an old acquaintance of Bottas: Frederic Vasseur. “I’d say 50% of the decision was because of Fred – recognized # 77, which will pair with Chinese rookie Zhou – knowing him from the past and knowing what he is capable of doing with the team“. Another key element for the latest Turkish GP winner was knowing he would finally be the reference point of the teamcomplete with a multi-year contract. “Having the role of team leader and being the most experienced driver on the team helped. I don’t want to say number one, because I think it’s never a good thing to define number one or two in a team, but the one with more experience ” He admitted.
In summary Bottas, often renamed as the “Best second driver” of F1 in his years with Mercedes, he wanted to ‘finally’ be selfish. “In the summer I thought it was time for me to think only of myself – explained the Finnish driver again – what I really want, what I need, what will make me happy and make me enjoy sport. Which will be the most rewarding for me. So yes, absolutely. The decisions I have made are only and exclusively what I personally wanted. Nothing else”he concluded.
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