Valtteri Bottas is a cool head in a fiery sport
The Finn starts on the grid in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate at Mercedes on Sunday
Helsinki — Valtteri Bottas was just six years old when he started go-kart racing, a little Finnish boy dreaming of winning a Formula One title. On Sunday, that dream moves a step closer to reality when Bottas starts on the grid in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate at Mercedes. In January, the all-conquering German constructor cherry-picked Bottas to replace their retired German champion Nico Rosberg, giving the 27-year-old "Finntastic" the added horsepower that he will need to become the fourth Finn to win an F1 world championship. Rosberg’s Finnish father, Keijo "Keke" Rosberg, won in 1982, followed by Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, and Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. Born on August 28 1989 in Nastola, a small lake-side community, Bottas honed his driving skills on muddy and icy roads. One of the greats of Finnish motor sport, rally world champion Ari Vatanen, described Bottas as a level-headed, "trustworthy" person, the kind of guy you want on your...
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