Bottas wanted to leave Formula 1 in 2018

Arriving as a replacement for Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas quickly found himself in the position of the number 2 driver against Lewis Hamilton. Struggling to match Hamilton’s outstanding performances, the Finnish driver was having a hard time finding his place in the title race and repeatedly had to concede victory to Hamilton in his battle against Sebastian Vettel.

It was at that moment that Bottas questioned his presence in Formula 1, and even considered ending his career at the end of 2018. I almost quit at the end of 2018. It was really close. Only because I didn’t understand and couldn’t accept the fact that I couldn’t beat Lewis during those two seasons. I put so much pressure on myself. Towards the end of 2018, especially when I started having the support role, I couldn’t handle it, it was very tough. It wasn’t fun.

During this interview, the journalist asked him if by “stopping”, Bottas meant ending his partnership with Mercedes or completely retiring from the sport: « Sometimes, you lose happiness in certain things, I lost the joy of Formula 1 and racing in F1. I was almost angry with it, it’s weird. I just needed a little break. Seeing things from a bigger perspective, I realized that this sport was still nice, and that I still had a lot of opportunities in the future. »

Finally, the Finn continued with Mercedes until 2021, where he eventually left the German team to join Alfa Romeo. Already having scored 44 points for the Italian team, Bottas’s gamble to move to a back-of-the-grid team in 2021 seems to be paying off.