“I can truly be who I am,” Valtteri Bottas pleased with policies at Alfa Romeo in comparison to Mercedes
Valtteri Bottas has discussed the freedom that he has been given at the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team.
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Valtteri Bottas (Planet F1)
Valtteri Bottas has talked about the freedom that he has been given at the Alfa Romeo F1 Team. In his opinion, the company policies on the team allow him to be his true self which he was not allowed to be at the Brackley-based Mercedes team. As an example, he has sighted that, he most probably would not have been allowed to support a Mullet when he was with Mercedes.
Valtteri Bottas is enjoying his life at Alfa Romeo and is happy with the extent of support that he has so far gotten on the team. While talking about the same, he recently said, “Now I feel like I can truly be who I am, for sure there’s a bit of a difference. I think company policies might be a bit different in different workplaces let’s say.“
“Some things might be a bit more restricted, but I think it’s time and getting older as well, all the skills and learning F1 has given me, you eventually just learn sometimes not to take things too seriously, especially yourself. I imagine I would not have been allowed [to grow the mullet at Mercedes], so that’s one example.”
Looking at Finn’s comments, it is pretty clear that he is at way more ease at Alfa Romeo, than he ever was at Mercedes. Moreover, he has also indicated that with age people learn very quickly not to take everything to heart.
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Valtteri Bottas’ take on his future F1 prospects
While Valtteri Bottas is enjoying his time at Alfa Romeo, he is also keeping one eye on his contract situation in F1. While talking about the same, Bottas said, “Eventually, we will have to speak about the future, we haven’t properly yet,” he said, with his current deal to set expire at the end of 2023.”
“Let’s get these first few races out of the way and then we will see. It is not the time yet and things are pretty stable. It’s a different atmosphere for sure [compared to Mercedes]. A big part of it is when you’re fighting for the title, the pressure builds up and so on but it’s a smaller team [at Alfa Romeo].”
“But I think for me, probably one of the big things why I feel more relaxed is that the future is a bit more solid for the years to come than what it was before (when Bottas was on one-year deals at Mercedes).”
Valtteri Bottas is currently tipped as the ideal candidate for Audi when they arrive in 2026. Moreover, the 33-year-old is not as worried about his F1 contract as when he was at Mercedes. There he was only given 1-year-contracts during his five-year stay. At Alfa Romeo, he is the main man and has a multi-year contract in place.
Taking everything into account, could Valtteri Bottas stay with his current employers until the time Audi takes over the team? Or should he look elsewhere if a better opportunity presents itself in the upcoming years of the sport?
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)