{"id":32802,"date":"2021-12-10T12:11:37","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T11:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.puma-catchup.com\/?p=32802"},"modified":"2025-09-26T13:11:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T13:11:45","slug":"interview-with-puma-sponsored-mercedes-amg-petronas-formula-1-team-driver-valtteri-bottas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.puma-catchup.com\/fr\/sports\/interview-with-puma-sponsored-mercedes-amg-petronas-formula-1-team-driver-valtteri-bottas\/","title":{"rendered":"Entretien avec Valtteri Bottas, pilote de l'\u00e9quipe de Formule 1 Mercedes-AMG Petronas sponsoris\u00e9e par PUMA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Home<\/a>\/\n Sports<\/a>\/\n Interview with PUMA sponsored Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team driver Valtteri Bottas\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Valtteri Bottas Unleashed<\/h1>\n
Interview with PUMA sponsored Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team driver Valtteri Bottas<\/div>\n
10 d\u00e9cembre 2021 <\/div>\n\n
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With only one more race remaining of the 2021 Formula 1 season, the 10-time Grand Prix winner Valtteri Bottas took time out of his hectic schedule to meet up with the infamous United Arab Emirates-based drift team \u00b4Lunatics By Nature\u00b4 (LBN) to go for some laps. Read the interview to find out more about the PUMA sponsored Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team driver and his 800bhp drift car experience at a private drift track outside of Abu Dhabi.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Do you have favorite music to get in the mindset for racing?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: I don\u2019t really listen to music while I\u2019m driving competitively, drifting, or rallying, or before I get in the car. I like to focus on what I have to do in the car before I get in, and then when I\u2019m racing, I want to hear the engine and all the sounds from the car. The engine is my music!<\/strong>\nHave you been drifting before? Did you know much about it?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: I\u2019ve taken part in a lot of rallies. I suppose I had done some drifting. The techniques of car control are very similar, but I hadn\u2019t done anything like this before with a proper drift car and on an asphalt drift track. I\u2019ve been driving cars since I was six years old<\/strong>, so that for helps \u2013 but for sure the thing that helped me the most is my experience from rallying. In rallying you are always sliding the car and controlling the throttle, the weight transfer, the balance, and everything very differently to how you would drive an F1 car. I found it pretty fun and quick to adjust, and my learning curve was pretty steep.\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Did you get a different buzz out of this than circuit racing?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: You definitely get the adrenaline out of it. The sound of the engine is seriously loud in the drift car, and you can smell the melting rubber from the tires. It\u2019s really cool. It is completely different to F1, but it\u2019s for sure a sport that I enjoy.\nYour love of Rally has already been talked about a lot \u2013 was it easy for you to get the hang of it? Would you consider building a car for drifting?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: Yeah, I\u2019ve started to think about it now. Maybe I should. The guys here in the LBN Team have been building their own cars and have such a good time with it. You can see what they are doing here carries huge passion \u2013 and I love to see that. So, you know \u2013 never say never<\/strong>!\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u00a0\nA post shared by PUMA Motorsport (@pumamotorsport)\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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How was your year, are you happy with your performance?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: Another year has flown by. It feels like we have just started the season. Now it\u2019s coming to an end, and it\u2019s going to be the last race with Mercedes. The season overall has been a bit up and down. It started pretty bad \u2013 the first six or seven races were a big disappointment, which already put me a bit off the championship fight. After that, for the rest of the season the mentality changed a bit. I tried to maximize the points as much as possible and work in a support role, rather than fighting for the title myself. But it is what it is. There have been great moments, but also some really unlucky moments \u2013 so it was a bit mixed.\nWhat were your highlights?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: I would say there are a few races that have stood out as highlights this year for me. The win in Turkey for sure. I won a couple of the new format sprint races in Monza and Brazil. I\u2019ve got quite a few pole positions, especially towards the end of the year. Obviously, the highlight would be to finish on top with the team after the last race<\/strong>.\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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The race in Saudi last weekend was a real thriller, any comments on the experience?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: The race was intense. Even from the very first session out, the margins were so fine. Then during the race, there was all the drama from two red flags. When that happens, the stop-start nature is quite all consuming while you try to stay focused for the re-start. I definitely felt tired after the race, mentally and physically. I kept fighting until the very end and got the podium in the final few meters.<\/strong>\nWhat are your thoughts heading in the final round of the season?<\/strong>\nValtteri Bottas: The main focus has to be on my own race.<\/strong> I will push to get the best out of myself and do the best race possible. It\u2019s important to me to try and finish on the best result possible in my last race with Mercedes. As a team we are still fighting for the drivers and the constructors\u2019 titles<\/strong>, so the focus is on that. But no doubt after the race \u2013 when I have time to process; that\u2019s the last Grand Prix with Mercedes, it\u2019s going to be emotional.\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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About Valtteri Bottas<\/h2>\n

Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Mercedes, having previously driven for Williams from 2013 to 2016. He has scored 10 race wins, and 67 podiums. He has contributed to four constructors championship wins since joining Mercedes, and been drivers championship runner-up twice, in 2019 and 2020. Valtteri will drive for Alfa Romeo Racing from the 2022 season onward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A post shared by PUMA (@puma)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n