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Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas is a huge fan of hockey, coffee and cycling, but F1 dwarfs all of that for the Finn. In this exclusive feature, the 10-time Grand Prix winner explains in his own words why his compatriot and two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen is his f1 icon…
Finland is a unique place to grow up. It’s a slow culture, but it produces fast racing drivers. It’s a quiet place, but we love the roar of engines. There’s clean water, clean air, great schools, it’s safe, and growing up there was pretty ideal. You appreciate the simple things in life.
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But finding out as a kid that there was a go-kart track just 15 minutes from my hometown of Nastola? You can imagine that he was very happy with that.
We played ice hockey in winter (Finland has very cold winters, obviously) and I idolized Teemu Selanne. Of course, being a Finn, I am also a huge rally fan. There are so many drivers I look up to: Tommi Makinen, Marcus Gronholm, Juha Kankkunen… the list could go on and on, honestly.
But when it comes to F1, Mika Hakkinen is the driver I look up to.
My earliest memories include waking up on Sunday, no matter what time zone, like it’s Japan or something, making a sandwich with my dad, and turning on F1. it was great
I still remember very vividly Mika’s first win in the last race of 1997 (and also the other things that happened in that race), supporting him in the ’98 campaign when he won the title, and again in ’99.
He was a national hero in Finland and also for me: a huge, huge hero.
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I felt that during that period, when Michael Schumacher was on top, Mika was the only one who could really challenge him, and it was great to see, the battles they had, including Spa 2000. There were so many that they had that it was really exciting.
Aside from the obvious, which is winning two world championships, Mika’s greatest achievement was the comeback from that horrible accident in Adelaide in ’95. It must have been very hard.
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I heard stories of her former manager, Didier Coton, who was waiting in Australia at her hospital for a month or so while Mika lay there recovering. That was the last race of the 1995 season.
That Mika raced again in the first round of 1996 is a great lesson for everyone, to keep fighting no matter what.
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Mika definitely embodies the Finnish concept of sisu, especially with what happened with his accident: being in a coma, waking up and not sure if he could keep running, but just keep fighting. And he hadn’t won in Formula 1 for so many years and yet he never gave up, and the opportunity finally came.
I think he has that kind of Finnish mentality: sisu it is the word, that stubbornness, drive and determination, of not allowing yourself to give up no matter what. He is a true Finn.
Sisu is the word, that stubbornness, drive and determination, to not allow yourself to give up no matter what. He is a true Finn.
I would like to think that I also have that quality. Obviously, I take this sport seriously and every time I make mistakes, I hit myself pretty hard.
That I haven’t won the title yet and had good chances to do so in the Mercedes years is sometimes hard to take, but that obviously still motivates me and keeps me going, and the dream lives on.
Obviously, to have taken that first win in 2017 is something really incredible, but I would take a step back and look at it all as a whole: being in a team and winning the constructors’ title five times in a row with Mercedes was pretty cold.
I’ve lost count of the podiums and points I’ve scored, that’s pretty epic too, but I still think there’s more to come from me in F1.
Now, I think I definitely feel more comfortable with everything in my life, I have a great balance, everything is in great harmony, plus the environment here at Alfa Romeo means I feel like I can now really be myself and do the things I want. as.
But I think no one should be wrong: I still take F1 very, very seriously. It’s my dream job, and I still have big goals for the future.
Mika is part of that. He’s still one of my managers and it’s great to chat with him sometimes, not just about F1 and driving, but about everything to do with being in the paddock, because he’s seen and experienced so much in and out of Formula 1.
If you’re ever in doubt, ask Mika.
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