F1, Valtteri Bottas’ revelation: ‘I needed the psychologist’

F1, Valtteri Bottas’ revelation: ‘I needed the psychologist’

The will and determination to become one of the strongest drivers in Formula 1 had a negative impact, at least in the beginning, on Valtteri Bottas: “I used to train myself to suffer physically and mentally. It got out of hand and became an addiction. Officially I was not diagnosed with any eating disorder, but it was definitely there. If the team told me I had to weigh 68 kg, and I weighed 73 naturally, then I had to do everything to lose weight. It was not a very healthy situation, but I wanted to be the best, and I thought I had to.”

“I needed the help of a psychologist, who at the first evaluation called me a robot with no feelings and only aiming to achieve his goal. It scared me, but it was true that at that time I had no life outside F1,” he continued in the interview with Maria Veitola.

“The last season in Mercedes was very difficult because my future was in the balance and I didn’t know which team I would be racing for. When you think you’re a tough guy who doesn’t need help, you think you can fix everything just by looking in the mirror. But a professional knows how to ask the right questions by making you open your eyes,” Bottas concluded.