Valtteri Bottas is much more than a fast Formula 1 star, so here is everything that you need to know about the Finnish driver currently racing for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
The Hinwil, Switzerland squad added another bow to Bottas’ CV in 2022 as he left Mercedes after five seasons. He shared the Silver Arrows’ garage with Lewis Hamilton and finished two terms second to the Briton. While his Grand Prix racing career started with Williams in 2013.
Williams initially benched Bottas in 2012 as he spent a third season as the Grove outfit’s test driver. He also spent 2012 as their reserve driver and drove in 15 practice sessions in the 20-race year. Bottas eventually made his race debut at the 2013 Australian GP and secured P14.
Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas started out in F1 with Williams
Bottas stayed at Williams until after the 2016 season when Mercedes sought to replace Nico Rosberg following the German’s shock retirement after winning the title. He had entered 77 Grand Prix for the team Frank Williams created and took nine podiums over 2014 and 2015.
Williams saw Bottas secure his first Grand Prix podium at the 2014 Austrian GP. But his first pole position would not arrive at the Finn’s feet until the 2017 Bahrain GP on his third race with Mercedes. While Bottas’ debut win also came in round four of 2017 at the Russian GP.
Leaving Grove for Brackley in 2017 marked a departure from where Bottas had called home since 2010. He joined Williams as their test driver whilst challenging for the Formula 3 Euro Series. Bottas also won the 2011 GP3 title with Williams’ backing with four wins in 16 races.
Junior success came regularly throughout Bottas’ early days after moving to single-seaters in 2007. He took the bronze medal in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship in his first year. While Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC titles arrived in 2008.
Valtteri Bottas had lavish junior success and served in the army
Bottas even won 12 of the 14 races en route to the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC title and sealed 13 pole positions that year. His instant success in single-seaters further followed several go-karting titles, including taking Formula A class honours in the 2006 WSK International Series.
His passion for karting came after entering a race for the first time at the age of five. He also won go-karting events early on in his racing career. But Bottas also briefly served in the army as is obligated by the Constitution of Finland. He got the rank of Corporal during his service.
But who really is Bottas and what is the Sauber driver’s life outside of Formula 1 like? Well, F1 Oversteer has taken a look at everything you need to know about the Finnish racing driver…
How old is Valtteri Bottas? What is the Stake F1 Team Sauber driver’s age?
At the time of writing, Stake F1 Team Sauber star Valtteri Bottas is 34 years old. He was born on August 28, 1989 to parents dad, Rauno Bottas, and mother, Marianne Valimaa. His father ran a small cleaning company in Finland and his mum was an undertaker before he made F1.
Where was Valtteri Bottas born? What is his nationality?
Valtteri Bottas was born in Nastola, a small former municipality of Finland before it merged with the city of Lahti in 2016. The Sauber star stayed in Nastola until his teen years when he moved to Heinola to study to be a car mechanic, before moving to Oxford, England in 2010.
Bottas moved to England after joining Williams as a test driver to be closer to their factory in Grove. But he also moved to Monaco in 2013 and continues to call the Principality his home.
How tall is Valtteri Bottas? What is his height in feet?
Stake F1 Team Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas stands at 1.73m tall or 5 ft 8 in feet. He is slightly under the average height of the 20-strong grid for 2024, which measures in at 1.77m (5 ft 9). His teammate, Zhou Guanyu, is also only marginally taller, with his height of 1.75m or 5 ft 8.
Who is Valtteri Bottas’ girlfriend? Does he have a wife?
Valtteri Bottas has been dating his girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell, since January 2020. The pair confirmed their relationship just two months after Bottas announced his divorce to ex-wife, Emilia Pikkarainen, after three years citing the ‘challenges my career and life situation bring’.
Cromwell is an Australian cyclist, currently riding with the Canyon//SRAM racing team in the UCI Women’s World Tour. She was born in Stirling, a suburb of Perth, on July 6, 1988. Bottas also joined Cromwell in a road cycling race after the 2023 Emilia Romagna GP was cancelled.
Bottas also dedicated his race helmet for the 2022 Australian GP to Cromwell and asked her to design it, too. It featured an array of notes towards her home country, including the flag of Australia and even a shark. Bottas also finished the Melbourne race P8 from 12th on the grid.
Valtteri Bottas’ net worth
Stake F1 Team Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas just creeps into the top 10 richest drivers on the 2024 grid. He, along with Lando Norris of McLaren and Kevin Magnussen of Haas each have a net worth of $30m (£23.5m) as of January 2024, per valuations accumulated by Planet F1.
Valtteri Bottas has invested in Ihana wine, Oath gin and Kahiwa coffee
Valtteri Bottas has boosted his net worth with his investments outside Formula 1, including in the wine, gin and coffee industries. Coffee has been a big part of Bottas’ brand since he was at Mercedes as the Finnish racer started taking an espresso cup with him into their garage.
Bottas also furthered his ties to coffee by investing in Kahiwa in 2020 for a 20% share of the company from Lahti, Finland. He first learned of the brand upon returning to his hometown amid the Covid-19 pandemic and ordering a bag of beans before learning more about them.
The gin industry then took Bottas and girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell’s interest in 2023, with the couple launching OATH Gin before that year’s Australian GP. It uses oats from the farm that Bottas’ uncle owns in Finland and apples from Adelaide near Cromwell’s hometown, Stirling.
OATH Gin is distilled in Finland to take advantage of one of the purest sources of tap water in the world, as well. While Bottas furthered his interests again in 2023 with a Shiraz he blends himself with grapes from a small family-owned vineyard, Oliver’s Taranga, in South Australia.
Valtteri Bottas’ Formula 1 career stats
As of the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, Stake F1 Team Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas had entered 223 Grand Prix. He made his debut at the Australian GP in 2013 driving for Williams. Bottas also ranked 35th for Grand Prix wins and 17th for pole positions all-time in Formula 1.
The post Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside of F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin appeared first on F1 Oversteer.