Stig's Finnish cousin?

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas dresses up for a photo shoot for Esquire Magazine

It's obviously far too early for Valtteri Bottas to be thinking about what life after Formula 1. Which is just as well Otherwise we might think he's auditioning to take over the role of the Stig in BBC motoring show Top Gear.

In fact this is a behind-the-scenes shot of a photoshoot for men's fashion magazine Esquire. The picture was shared on Twitter by Mercedes sponsors PETRONAS Motorsports.

It certainly explains why this particular Stig candidate is looking so stylish. We're pretty sure that Hugo Boss suit is not FIA safety compliant for use on pit lane this weekend!

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.