Valtteri Bottas is known for many things.
He is a veteran of the Formula 1 circuit, embarking on his 10th season. A calm but fiercely determined driver, he has racked up 10 wins, 20 poles and 67 podiums. A former teammate of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, the Finn is now moving to the third team in his F1 career: Alfa Romeo. And he’s the driver with the picture of the hobo who raised over $50,000 for charity.
He is known for his love of cycling and coffee, gravitating towards whites and espressos but doesn’t use sugar. What some Formula 1 fans may not know is that his passion has reached new levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. He co-owns Kahiwa Coffee Roastery in Lahti, Finland.
The 32-year-old heads to Baku, Azerbaijan, believing Alfa Romeo has the potential to “fight ahead” as a podium continues to allude to Bottas after seven races. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been a rollercoaster track for him in recent years – finishing 12th in 2021, winning at 19, losing the lead after going through wreckage in 18 and passing Lance Stroll for second place in 17. .
Could it be Sunday that Formula 1 fans see the full potential of Bottas’ package and Alfa Romeo era?
As F1 heads to Baku, illustrated sports chatted with the coffee enthusiast about his passion beyond the grid, key pieces of the street circuit to keep an eye on this weekend, and more.
Bottas, a coffee enthusiast, has been looking to shake up his new team, Alfa Romeo, this season.
IMAGO / Panorama
Fuel for Thought is illustrated sportsExclusive Q&A with the biggest names in Formula 1. The following Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Sports Illustrated: What is Baku like?
Valtteri Bottas: Baku is sunny. It’s pretty hot. The track looks identical to previous years. No change really on the track.
SI: How do you feel about not having any changes in the track?
VB: Sometimes it’s nice to have differences and changes, but I think this track works as it is. It has always produced a very interesting race mainly because of the long straight. It opens up opportunities for overtaking and with the technical sections and the track being a street track, you know it makes it pretty unpredictable. People are making mistakes, and there are things happening, so it’s a good place for a GP.
SI: What should we look out for in Baku? Which part of the track is the most challenging and why?
VB: The most challenging part is the section in the middle of the track, which enters the old town. It’s super narrow, and it’s really hard to judge, especially these days with the big new cars, how close you are to the wall in some places. So I think that’s where we’re likely to see some driver mistakes. And also what is going to be a very important thing this weekend is strength and speed and trying to avoid porpoises, the cars bouncing up and down the straight. Teams that can avoid it here will have an advantage because of the long, bumpy straight.
It will be difficult to predict where we will be as a team, but for sure fighting for some solid points, I hope again.
SI: How is that feeling of porpoing?
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VB: You definitely feel it the next day. But luckily our car wasn’t that bad so we didn’t have any major problems. That’s how the ground effect works, and if it starts to get unstable, it starts to happen. But I think all teams have learned how to avoid it.
SI: How was tuning the car this season with all the new changes to the technical regulations?
VB: In fact, easier than I thought. There were some changes, and the whole philosophy of the aerodynamics of the cars is different, but actually it wasn’t that different from the driver’s point of view. The main thing you feel is that the car is a little heavier, so in a way it feels a little lazier, like in a change of direction. But the tire is actually not that different.
I would say the main thing for me was getting used to the new team because, for example, all the functions on the steering wheel are completely different from what I’m used to, the terms we talk about the car and the setup.
AND: How did you adapt to the new team, especially mentally?
VB: I mentally started on a completely new page. It took all the experience I had with four years at Williams and five years at Mercedes, and just one new chapter. It reset all the goals for the season, and made the main objective to progress and enjoy at the same time. I think that’s what we were able to do and score points consistently. It’s been fun, but also seeing the motivation in the team that everybody now wants a little more. This is very, very healthy.
The feeling at the moment for me is that I definitely wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
SI: Is there a race this season that you are particularly proud of, although we are still at the beginning?
VB: It’s still early. I would say the first race, for sure, was really amazing. You know, along with a team and both cars scoring points. That was amazing. But then some of the qualifying results like in Miami – that was really good. I think the best result is yet to come.
Bottas entered Alfa Romeo with a new mindset.
IMAGO / HochZwei
SI: Looking at Monaco, a lot happened that weekend. Can you talk about that and what it was like to be in the car, especially with all the stops on Sunday?
VB: It was very, very strange because the race was obviously delayed due to the rain. And then it was delayed even further and no one quite understood what some of the delays were. Eventually when we start it is difficult because Monaco is probably the hardest track you can drive in wet conditions. Keeping in line is a challenge. So in dry conditions, as a rider, you start pushing harder, you start pushing more, and it’s so easy to make a mistake. But the main thing was to make sure you saw the checkered flag. Also in terms of strategy, I think we made the right choice at the right time with the tyre, so we gained a foothold. In the end, from 12th place to score some points in Monaco is really a good result.
SI: A simple but profound question: Who are you?
VB: I’m Valtteri from a small town in Finland and I love racing cars. That’s my passion. But at the same time, I also like to do things in my life that make me happy, and always follow my passion. I love my family, my friends. I love traveling and coffee.
SI: What are some of your favorite hobbies outside of racing? Do you have a happy place outside the car?
VB: I love cycling, a great cyclist, and my girlfriend is a pro. So for me it’s a good hobby, something different from Formula 1. And it’s actually a really cool way to see places and nature and explore. I like to travel. So if I have some time to spare, I’m often not so good at sitting still, so I like to keep moving.
SI: Do you have a favorite place you like to travel?
VB: My hometown in Finland, a town called Lahti. It’s beautiful, by the lake, really pure nature and fresh clean water. And it’s a place I keep coming back to. Even in northern Finland. It’s really very epic, quite arctic environment in winter. Also Colorado in the US is always a place I come back to, and next time I’m planning to go on vacation in August.
SI: What is a question you would like people to ask you, and how would you answer it?
VB: How do I have my breakfast? It’s usually a routine. When I’m at home, I have a plain white, which is a double shot of espresso, and then some frothy milk with a little latte art on top. And after that, I’ll have another double espresso after breakfast. And then maybe another plain white.
SI: How did you get into latte art?
VB: I actually co-own a coffee roaster in Finland. It’s called Kahiwa. And when I met these guys, they were really professionals with latte art and all that stuff. So I learned a few things, but I still have a long way to go to get to a good consistent level. But it’s good fun.
SI: What is one piece of advice you want to share with the next generation? Because it’s much more difficult nowadays, especially with the pressure of social media.
VB: In life, I think it’s important to try to be around people and hang out with people you really want, and the same thing on social media. I know it’s easy to say I don’t care what people say, but I really don’t care what people say. My strategy now is actually with social media is that I post things and that’s it. I never read anything. I want to share some things with my life, but I don’t want to open the comments. I don’t want to see what people say because when I was a little younger, I learned that there can be a lot of negativity, and that can get to you. So just stay away. Otherwise, just hang out with people, do things that make you happy – together. And try to avoid people with bad energy and prefer people with good energy. It’s quite simple in the end, because the good energy spreads, and then everyone is happy.
SI: How did you get into the coffee business?
VB: I’ve always been a big coffee drinker, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I hadn’t been to Finland in a while. I went to Finland, to my hometown, and I saw that there was a coffee roaster that I had never heard of. It was called A New One, and I ordered beans from them. But then they sent me like ground coffee. So I called them and said that I ordered beans. Can I just come get them? So I took them. We started chatting with a guy, and I shared my passion for coffee, and he told their story about roasting. And two weeks later, I was one of the owners of the company, so that was it. We decided to do things together and we have big plans for the future, trying to expand not only in Finland but also in the world. Now, we ship online worldwide.
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