Valtteri Bottas shares the moment that made him ‘almost quit’ Formula 1

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Valtteri Bottas has revealed the period that made him ‘almost quit’ Formula 1 because it was being ‘cruel’ to him.

The Finn has raced for Sauber in the last three years and largely picked up the scraps in the midfield, as the team has been unable to produce a car good enough for regular points.

The team had high expectations going into this season ahead of their planned transition to Audi in 2026 but instability within Sauber’s technical team and lack of funding has prevented them from progressing.

Despite finishing outside the top 10 in most races, Valtteri Bottas has revealed that the most mentally draining period during his F1 career came several years prior when speaking on the Pit Lane Life Lessons podcast.

Valtteri Bottas recalls most ‘cruel’ period in F1 career

Before joining Sauber, Bottas was racing at Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton after being promoted from Williams in 2017.

The 34-year-old revealed that the 2018 season was the year that affected him the most, after entering his second year harbouring title ambitions but finishing 161 points behind Hamilton.

“There have been many life lessons in this sport. I’ve gone through a phase when I almost quit my career because I was fed up with the F1 world and I thought it was cruel to me,” said Bottas.

“That was in 2018, but then somehow managed to pick myself up and win the first race of 2019, so that was the turning-point for me.”

Mercedes period challenging for Valtteri Bottas

While racing at Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, Bottas often played second-best to Hamilton as the Briton reached his seven world titles milestone.

This often led to Mercedes employing team orders, notably when he was instructed to not overtake Hamilton for the lead in the German GP in 2018 and when he was told to give up the lead at the Russian GP.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

He also faced setbacks that year which put him further back in the title challenge, notably at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when he picked up a puncture late into the race and a Safety Car that prevented him from winning in China.

Bottas is one of the few drivers on the grid yet to secure a seat for 2025 and a contract extension with Sauber ahead of their transition to Audi seems unlikely.

Former boss Andreas Seidl was reportedly not keen on signing Bottas, but with Mattia Binotto taking over the reigns it could enable him to prove he is the right man into the next era for the team with the final 10 races left.