I was doing some research to write an article about a Polar heart rate monitor
↑This guy showing up on the manufacturer's site
looks dead like F1 driver Valtteri Bottas, or actually
I reckon that might be the man himself, so I checked
Polar's official list of sponsored athletes
and he wasn't on it.
But then I found a video elsewhere and yeah, it was definitely Bottas.
What caught my attention was his title being
"Professional Racing Driver" and there was absolutely no mention of
being an F1 driver or driving for Mercedes-AMG Petronas or anything like that.
Maybe that's because he's getting personal sponsorship rather than team sponsorship.
In the video, Bottas is doing weightlifting with barbells,
training with Chinese martial arts whips, riding a road bike,
swimming in a river in a wetsuit,
and sleeping all warm and cozy in a sleeping bag and stuff,
but all you can really confirm is that he's wearing Puma gear—
no Mercedes logos or anything like that on his clothes.
I've got this feeling that for 2022, Mercedes' regular drivers are gonna be
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Bottas isn't so much getting pushed out as just calling it quits himself, I reckon.
Back at the 2020 Sakhir GP, Hamilton had to miss the race due to COVID,
so Mercedes borrowed Russell from Williams to substitute for him
(technically speaking, borrowing a driver from a rival team is unthinkable in cycling),
but if it weren't for that massive tire change mistake in that race,
Mercedes could've had a 1-2 finish and Russell might even have won.
But Bottas has this craftsmanlike quality where he dedicates himself to
supporting Hamilton (what you'd call a domestique in cycling), and except for
circumstances beyond his control, he never goes for the upset victory—
which is why he ends up with an abnormally high number of second and third places.
If Hamilton's going to stay champion, then Bottas would actually be the better
choice for the other driver seat over Russell.
Though, I wonder if Bottas might end up transferring to Red Bull or something.
Oh, and at the most recent race, the 2021 Hungarian GP,
he caused a massive crash right after the start of the main race—
like there was an order saying "if you want to stay with the team, make a desperate charge"—
but that was seriously not on.
↑This guy showing up on the manufacturer's site
looks dead like F1 driver Valtteri Bottas, or actually
I reckon that might be the man himself, so I checked
Polar's official list of sponsored athletes
and he wasn't on it.
But then I found a video elsewhere and yeah, it was definitely Bottas.
What caught my attention was his title being
"Professional Racing Driver" and there was absolutely no mention of
being an F1 driver or driving for Mercedes-AMG Petronas or anything like that.
Maybe that's because he's getting personal sponsorship rather than team sponsorship.
In the video, Bottas is doing weightlifting with barbells,
training with Chinese martial arts whips, riding a road bike,
swimming in a river in a wetsuit,
and sleeping all warm and cozy in a sleeping bag and stuff,
but all you can really confirm is that he's wearing Puma gear—
no Mercedes logos or anything like that on his clothes.
I've got this feeling that for 2022, Mercedes' regular drivers are gonna be
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Bottas isn't so much getting pushed out as just calling it quits himself, I reckon.
Back at the 2020 Sakhir GP, Hamilton had to miss the race due to COVID,
so Mercedes borrowed Russell from Williams to substitute for him
(technically speaking, borrowing a driver from a rival team is unthinkable in cycling),
but if it weren't for that massive tire change mistake in that race,
Mercedes could've had a 1-2 finish and Russell might even have won.
But Bottas has this craftsmanlike quality where he dedicates himself to
supporting Hamilton (what you'd call a domestique in cycling), and except for
circumstances beyond his control, he never goes for the upset victory—
which is why he ends up with an abnormally high number of second and third places.
If Hamilton's going to stay champion, then Bottas would actually be the better
choice for the other driver seat over Russell.
Though, I wonder if Bottas might end up transferring to Red Bull or something.
Oh, and at the most recent race, the 2021 Hungarian GP,
he caused a massive crash right after the start of the main race—
but that was seriously not on.