F1, Bottas lets himself be photographed naked: “I learned to listen to my body”

The naked truth on the cover. And, inside, Badass Bottas, headlines the British magazine Gp Racing making a play on words with the Finnish driver’s lower back, sideways but completely uncovered, in his natural habitat: a sauna. “When I’m at home, I go there every day. For me it’s a spiritual activity in a way because normally when you’re in the sauna you don’t talk so much. You just try to reset your thoughts”. Finland has won the United Nations ranking as the happiest country in the world since 2018. “The pace of life in Finland is quite slow. I mean, we’re always on time, but things don’t necessarily have to happen in a flash. We are very lucky to have pure air, pure water. We have lots of space, beautiful forests, lakes. And silence. Maybe that’s why we appreciate the little things, like going to the sauna: it makes us happy”.

The tree house near the polar circle

And also look at things from an unusual point of view. A couple of years ago she built a tree house near the Arctic Circle, in a place called Kilpisjärvi, not even 200 souls. Only two rooms, “only one bedroom, there is no room for guests. And a kitchen with a sitting room”. Happy seems to be more happy than before, Valtteri, born 33 years ago in the woods in the south of the country, in Nastola. After 5 seasons in Mercedes (10 wins) as Lewis Hamilton’s deputy, he has been in Alfa Romeo for two years. After three years he separated in 2019 from his wife Emilia Pikkarainen, a swimmer who participated in three Olympics.

The new partner

He has a new partner, Tiffany Cromwell, a year older than him, an Australian road cyclist who has also won two stages of the women’s Giro d’Italia. Sport as a natural home for Bottas. Not only. Tiffany also designs the F1 helmets for him. He rides with her, proudly displaying her signature tan: “Lines should be cultivated and kept as sharp as after a shave.” Pedaling helps him keep fit, he has a considerable tonnage (69 kg for 1.73 cm) and tends to gain weight, also for this reason he underwent very hard training in the past: “But I learned to listen to my body, today I understand what I need rather than following specific programs”. And riding a bike “I don’t know if it’s because of the endorphins, but it makes me think only positive things”.

A photo to raise funds

And expose the truth. Last year on a ride with Tiffany after the Miami GP, he had himself portrayed with his bare bottom lying on the water with the mountains of Aspen, Colorado in the background, by the German fashion and sport photographer, Paul Ripke. The photo immediately went viral. “It was Paul’s idea to print it and sell it for a charitable cause”: in 24 hours, they sold over 5,000 for less than $11 each. One he also gave to his ex-boyfriend, Hamilton. “We raised 50,000 euros and I’m happy to have helped cancer research with my backside”.