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bottas nearly quit Formula 1

Bottas reveals dark moments at Mercedes: 'I was ready to quit F1'

15 August at 08:00
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

When Toto Wolff and Mercedes needed to find a quick replacement for the suddenly retired World Champion Nico Rosberg, they threw Valtteri Bottas in at the deep end. The Finnish driver helped Mercedes win the Constructors' Championship, but it was never easy for Bottas alongside Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas actually had some decent experiance in Formula 1 before joining Mercedes. At Williams, Bottas achieved nine podiums and he made a solid start to his life at Mercedes. Bottas won his first Grand Prix just four races into his career at Mercedes and won twice more in his first year. But in 2018, Bottas didn't win a race and his form tailed off whilst Hamilton stormed to yet another World Championship title.

Bottas reflects on his dark moments in Formula 1

"There have been many life lessons in this sport. I've gone through a phase when I almost quit my career because I was fed up with the F1 world and I thought it was cruel to me. That was in 2018, but then somehow managed to pick myself up and win the first race of 2019 so that was the turning-point for me," Bottas said on the Pit Lane Life Lessons podcast.

After crossing the line in Australia in 2019, Bottas made his famous "to whom it may concern" radio message. It was a response to the critics who had doubted Bottas' performance at Mercedes. Bottas got to compete for Mercedes until the end of the 2021 season. He then moved to Sauber on a long-term deal that expires after the 2024 F1 season. Audi [who will take over Sauber in 2026] missed out on signing Carlos Sainz, so it looks like Plan C must now come into effect (as Plan B with Tsunoda is also impossible), and the chances are this means continuing with Bottas.