Valtteri Bottas says his investments outside of F1 offer a two-fold advantage: they allow him to take his mind off the sport when necessary and they help him prepare for a life after Formula 1.
As a seasoned veteran, Bottas has been on the grid since 2013. However, it was his successful stint with Mercedes from 2017 to 2021, during which he won ten Grands Prix, that brought him the financial security that he now enjoys.
Over the years, the Finn signed several lucrative endorsements deals but he’s also put his personal wealth to work in a variety of business ventures ranging from the Kahiwa Coffee Roastery in his native Finland, to a collaboration with gin label called Oath Gin, to other investments such as in the property sector.
Bottas says his business ventures serve a financial interest but also they also help take his focus off F1 outside of race weekends which crucially refreshes his mindset as a Grand Prix driver.
“For me it’s important,” explained the Alfa Romeo charger recently in Australia. “I feel that when I come to a race weekend, I’m quite refreshed.
“In the last couple of days I was working for my gin label and now I turn to racing and it’s cool, it’s fun. For me it works.”
The job of an F1 driver often extends beyond the race weekend, with technical briefings and simulator sessions back at a team’s base, and PR work while on the road.
An F1 driver’s typical schedule leaves little time for any other endeavor of significance. But Bottas says he always finds the time to have a glance at his affairs.
“Many times, people ask me ‘how do you have time for it?’. “But there is, we have off weeks, and even if we have simulator days or sponsors days between the races, in the evenings we still have out personal time.
“So for me it’s important to be able to switch focus to other things.”
And the end game of Bottas business ventures is to help fill the inevitable void that will materialize when his sporting life come to an end.
“I think that from a few years ago I started to invest in many different things because it is important to have other things, other passions, to do after if your career,” he said.
“Because if you drop out [of Formula 1] and you have nothing, you’ll feel quite hectic after being in such a hectic sport. So, for sure, that will be a good thing to have.”
