Valtteri Bottas Explains How He Replaced Lacklustre Sauber Performance With Off-Track Thrills

Saajan Jogia | 12 Hours Ago

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, arrives at the track ; 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Formula One World Championship / Press Stake F1 Team

Sauber's Valtteri Bottas, who rejoins Mercedes as a reserve driver next year, explained how his off-track excursions have led him to find the thrill of pushing himself to the limit, which his C44 F1 car was unable to provide after a lackluster 2024 season. The lack of concrete development on the car meant Bottas was unable to score any points, while his teammate Zhou Guanyu scored four points during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.

Since his on-track progress was marred by a slow car, Bottas' hunger for thrill was satisfied by indulging in off-track activities, such as his participation in the Gravel World Championships, where he finished midfield, followed by an 'in-villa Ironman' challenge that he completed in style. Explaining the lack of thrill at Sauber, he told Motorsport.com:

“I haven't had, unfortunately, that much fun in terms of fighting for results I want on track,” he said. “So on track definitely has been very challenging.

“But I've been trying to compensate that with my off-track life; doing other stuff, because I need the thrill from somewhere.

“I want to meet my targets in something. Let's give an example, the gravel world championships. I wanted to qualify for that, and I wanted to compete. I set it as a goal, and I achieved it, and I finished it in more or less in the midfield, and I was actually really happy about it.

“So I think all these things aside, I've been doing it because I need that feeling of getting into my goals and stuff like that. That's why I'm overall very, very happy.”

Bottas shared how he came up with an unconventional idea during dinner the night before: completing an Ironman Triathlon entirely within a villa. His plan included a 2.4-mile swim in a swimming pool, a 112-mile Peloton bike ride, and a 26.2-mile marathon on a treadmill. Starting early the next morning, Bottas was determined to accomplish the challenge by the day's end, sharing a video of his effort on social media. Considering his energy levels, the Finn also revealed that he wasn't yet done with Formula 1 and had a lot more to offer to the sport. He said:

“I was actually having some wine and then I was like: 'Tomorrow is an Ironman, a full one.'

"So, yeah, 6am to the pool, and off we go!

“Halfway through it, I was thinking, what am I doing? Why have I done it? But then I thought: ‘Okay, I'm halfway. There's no way of stopping now.’ So I had to complete it.

“I'm glad I did it. It was actually mentally, to go through that, a pretty eye-opening experience. You know, you have really got to dig deep and you learn how much it's just really the mental power. Because in the end, when your body is empty, then you're just going with your willpower. And that's a pretty cool feeling when you complete it.”

He added:

“That's why I also feel like I'm not done with the sport yet, because I feel like I could go forever.

“I've got everything in a great balance, and I don't really feel like I'm getting fatigue because of F1. So that's why I feel like I still have things to give for the sport, whatever role it is.”

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