Valtteri Bottas has revealed the special gift he received from Mercedes ahead of his departure from the Brackley squad, but the majestic farewell reward won't be sitting on top of the Finn's mantle.
Bottas has departed the championship winning team after five seasons of good and loyal service to open a new chapter in his F1 career with Alfa Romeo Racing.
Bottas won ten races with Mercedes during that productive period and clinched 58 podiums, contributing 1,327 points to his team's tally in the Constructors' standings while the Finn himself finished twice runner up in the championship to teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The 32-year-old was deservedly celebrated by his crews at the end of last year at Brackley where the team rolled out a very special parting gift for its former driver: Bottas' 2017 Russian Grand Prix winning Mercedes W08.
"It was a little surprise but a nice gift. Now I just don’t have anywhere to put it!" joked Bottas on the 'Speaking Frankly About Me' podcast on the supla.fi website.
"I was stunned myself when I saw what kind of send-off they had organised for me – a parade, fireworks and music. I realised they also appreciated what I had done for the team."
Revisiting last December's controversial finale in Abu Dhabi where Hamilton was beaten in a one-lap shootout by arch-rival Max Verstappen, Bottas revealed that his teammate's loss had deprived him of a hefty financial bonus.
"Certain bonuses are tied to certain achievements," he explained. "Fortunately, I hadn’t bought anything in advance with that amount. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t."
Bottas admitted that money has become a secondary concern in his career.
"I don’t really measure it," he said. "At some point, there came a moment when I didn’t have to look at my bank balance anymore.
"Of course, money is part of Formula 1. But I remember where I came from, and I’ve done quite well because of that."
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