Valtteri Bottas is without a doubt Formula 1’s next fan favourite, with the Finnish driver having become an online superstar following Netflix’s F1 docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’.
His move in 2022 to Alfa Romeo certainly resulted in the F1 community seeing a different side of the former Mercedes driver, who appears to have had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders.
Given how much is expected of a Silver Arrows driver, this sensation doesn’t come as a shock, with the Finn having reminded fans this season why he was signed by the Germans in the first place.
Bottas enjoyed a successful maiden season with the Hinwil-based side, one which saw Bottas claim 10th in the Drivers’ Championship.
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The 33-year-old’s P5 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix also sealed Alfa Romeo sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, with Aston Martin’s best result of the year having been sixth place.
Whilst he enjoyed success on the track, he also made fans laugh off it, starting off with a hilarious post on Instagram.
After the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, Bottas posted a photo of himself laying naked in a stream, concerningly, not the first time the F1 community has seen the Finnish driver’s rear end!
In the ‘Drive to Survive’ series, Bottas comically was filmed in a sauna back home, with his rear having been recorded on that occasion too.
It portrayed, though, a real laid-back personality that the fans hadn’t seen, due to having been under so much pressure during his first years at Mercedes.
To make the entire situation even funnier, he gave former team-mate Lewis Hamilton a framed copy of the photo, meaning that the seven-time World Champion would finally see the Finn’s rear after so many years of being ahead of him.
To add to the Finn’s online fame, he is now a YouTube star as well, following the release of a viral rap song called ‘Bottas’.
The song is by Arcangel, a Spanish-speaking hip-hop musician, whose song has already hit 2.2 million views on YouTube.
Gaining fame from a song entitled with his surname clearly isn’t enough for the Alfa Romeo driver, though, who posted his own video to social media on the same day the song was released.
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Bottas’ video, entitled ‘offseason’, shows the Finn getting a new haircut for the winter break, a mullet!
The Finn’s girlfriend, Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, appears to have been the driver’s inspiration, with the look concerningly suiting the driver used to the cold conditions of Scandinavia.
Fans will be hoping for more content from Bottas over the winter break, with many now wondering if he’ll rock the new haircut at the Bahrain Grand Prix!