Formula 1 star open about mental problems: “Nothing matters”

Valtteri Bottas (32) tells openly about mental problems, about weight pressure, that he was not allowed to sleep and that he had to have the help of a psychologist to get out of the vicious circle.

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The revelations come in an interview with Finnish Slender. On Sunday, the penultimate round of the World Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – with Lewis Hamilton in the best starting position, followed by Bottas and Max Verstappen, who slammed into the wall in qualifying – takes place in a desperate attempt to secure a “pole position”.

Bottas is aiming for 3rd place in this year’s Formula 1 World Championship and will next year switch from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo.

The Finn became part of the Formula 1 circus in 2013, when he got a contract with Williams. The following year, the problems began:

– I went on a plane, and the ex-girlfriend said to me that “I hope the flight goes well”. I replied something like “if it crashes, then what then? Then I will be out of this ».

– Thoughts like this – that nothing meant anything – started to come into my head, Bottas tells Supla.

He believes that the problems originated in the time when Formula 1 drivers were under extreme pressure to keep their weight as low as possible.

– It got a little out of control for me. I had to gain weight every morning and evening. It always had to be lower than the last. I got a good feeling about it.

He gladly doubled the run that the physical trainer in the team had asked him to take – without telling anyone.

– I thought it was good for me, but in the long run it was not, says Valtteri Bottas.

At first it was just a physical problem. That he got tired easily. Then he had trouble sleeping and could not sleep after four in the morning.

– Then came the mental problems. My ex-boyfriend said I needed help. I was just a shadow of myself.

Bottas says in the interview that he considered quitting Formula 1. The problems continued into 2015, when one of the driver colleagues, Jules Bianchi, hovered between life and death after the accident in the autumn of 2014. He finally died in the summer of 2015.

Valtteri Bottas worked with a psychologist to return fully. Unlike many other Formula 1 drivers, he does not try to keep his girlfriend a secret. It’s the Australian professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell. They made the relationship public on Valentine’s Day in 2020. She took part in the road race at the Olympics in Tokyo and has previously cycled the Ladies Tour of Norway.

At Thursday’s press conference, Bottas was asked if he thought that Max Verstappen could crash on purpose – in a way that makes him secure the World Cup gold.

– We have respect for each other. I do not think Max will be calculating and do something like that, Valtteri Bottas replied.

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