Valtteri Bottas has opened up about his time as a sniper in the Finnish army. The 10-time Grand Prix winner was forced to complete his nation’s mandatory military service between 2008 and 2009 as he was climbing the ladder to F1. In 2008, Bottas was competing in the Formula Renault Eurocup series, beating fellow future F1 stars Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne to the title. The following year, he graduated to the Formula Three Euro series, finishing third while racing for ART Grand Prix.
In between, however, he experienced military service, which is mandatory in Finland. Fortunately for the future Williams, Mercedes and Sauber racer, his stint was reduced to six months, so it didn’t have an impact on his racing career. Speaking about the experience on the Red Flags podcast, Bottas’ reveal triggered host Guenther Steiner to joke: “You cheaped out.”
Bottas then elaborated: “Because I was racing,” the driver responded. “But in six months of Finnish winter, I became a sniper. Yeah, oh you know, like a… I don’t think ‘scout’ is the right word, but the one who goes behind or in between the enemy.” He went on to add: “I was a good shot. That’s why they made me kind of a sniper.”
When the Finn returned to racing, he enjoyed plenty more success. After winning the 2011 GP3 Series following a late-season surge, he was promoted to the role of test and reserve driver for Williams.
The following year, Bottas completed FP1 sessions in all but five rounds of the 2012 F1 schedule before stepping into the series full-time with a struggling Williams squad. However, the Grove squad’s fortunes turned around at the start of the turbo hybrid era, and the Finn scored nine podiums before joining Mercedes to replace Nico Rosberg.
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Despite the disruption, Bottas looks back on his time in the military fondly. “Looking back at it, it was actually fun,” he previously told People.com. “But for sure, sometimes when I was there, it was not so much fun.
“Like when you’re tired and sleeping in the freezing cold forest for two weeks. But to me, it makes a boy a man. That is kind of the transition for many people, and to me, it did exactly that. You definitely learn resilience. You learn a lot about teamwork.
“Because you need to work as a team when you’re in extreme conditions or situations. You learn self-discipline for sure. And respect, in a way, for everything. That time also made the small things in life feel more serious. Like having a warm and soft bed after some of the camps was a luxury.”