Valtteri Bottas has emerged as the new “Iceman” of Formula One after winning his maiden race at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi on Sunday.
In the process he has also given his Mercedes team some food for thought as they plan their strategy for the remaining races of the season.
Before the season began he was seen as the number two in the Mercedes team behind three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. But the Finn showed with victory in Sochi he could be as big a threat to Hamilton as the Briton’s erstwhile teammate Nico Rosberg. Bottas is now just 10 points behind Hamilton and 23 points behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ standings as F1 now heads to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on May 14.
“Nerveless at the death in the Russian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas finally proved that Formula One has a new iceman,” Britain’s Guardian newspaper wrote in a reference to fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who came third behind teammate Vettel.
Bottas’ victory under pressure from Vettel maintains Mercedes’ unblemished winning record in Sochi and puts them ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship. However the team left the circuit with some worries after an indifferent weekend for Hamilton, who suffered from heating problems and was off the podium in fourth place.
“I just wasn’t quick enough. I’ve never had cooling issues like that before but it meant I was out of the race from the get-go,” he said. “I think I had the pace to fight with Kimi, but the car just kept overheating.”
Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff said it was clear that Bottas was not given the car to do the job at Sochi and that “it is a priority for us to sort this out before Barcelona.”
Bottas, who arrived at Mercedes from Williams to replace retired world champion Rosberg, has waited 81 races to finally taste victory.
That’s not the longest wait by any means, with 10 drivers having to wait longer to win, including Rosberg and countryman Mika Hakkinen. He is now the fifth Finn to have won a race, following Keke Rosberg, Hakkinen, Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen.
“It’s going to take a while to sink in,” he said. Bottas earned his victory following a blistering start, taking the lead from third on the grid, and then holding on under late pressure from Vettel.
After the previous races in Bahrain and China had seen plenty of overtaking, Sochi did not see a single pass after the initial moves at the start of the race.
The duel between Bottas against Vettel rescued the Russian GP which was otherwise short on thrills.
