John David Mercer-Imagn Images
SB Nation caught up with Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas ahead of the United States Grand Prix
Being a Formula 1 driver is a demanding job.
It is a job that extends far beyond simply climbing into the cockpit of a rocket ship on wheels for a few hours on Sundays, requiring hours of physical training, simulation work, the navigation of a grinding schedule that spans the entire globe, and more.
Recently, that has also entailed more and more work away from the track, on activations that teams have with various technical and commercial partners. Moments after landing at the site of the next race drivers are whisked away to various locals for activations, photo shoots, media appearances, and more.
Oftentimes, those activations and commercial endeavors produce content gold.
That is usually the case with Valtteri Bottas. Already this season the Sauber driver has provided some of the more memorable commercial shoots the sport has seen this year, from his incredible Uber Carshare advertisement ahead of the Australian Grand Prix to this spoof of a Ted Talk in collaboration with WhistlePig Whiskey.
His latest activation, in conjunction with Sauber technical partner Hyland, might be the most incredible yet.
Earlier this year Bottas took to Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California, and was to sensors that measured athletic data like heart rate, brain activity, sweat production, and more, over hours of hot laps. All of that biometric data was being monitored and recorded during the process. That data was then used to create a song, composed by a group of professional music composers, engineers, and musicians.
Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, SB Nation caught up with Bottas about his season, his fall break, and this latest collaboration, “Flight of the Valtteri.”
The “Flight of the Valtteri” Project
Hyland
Normally when I get a chance to talk with an F1 driver, the conversation begins with a discussion about racing, whether about the season results so far, the upcoming race, or somewhere in between.
But given this activation, curiosity got the best of me, so I needed to know: How did this project come about, and how did Bottas feel about it?
“Yeah, the project came about from an idea from Hyland,” began Bottas. “We’re always looking collaboration-wise, [at] cool things to do and something new and different, and this really is something that hasn’t been done before.
“So their idea, I approved it immediately. And in fact, I flew just to make it happen from Europe to the US for one full day only to do it,” continued Bottas. “I really, really enjoyed it.”
As for his role in the project, Bottas was asked to do what he does best: Push a car to the limit.
“I basically had to do my thing, drive a race car around the race track as fast as I can,” described Bottas. “And meanwhile, they were measuring all my biometric data with all the latest technologies, and then with the professional people, they managed to turn that into a soundtrack, which for me then really represents speed, tempo and adrenaline, and almost kind of the feeling that you feel when you are in a race car.”
The end result is an EDM track which you will see in a moment, but I wanted to get the driver’s impression of the final result.
Bottas gave “Flight of the Valtteri” a rave review.
“I think, the song itself, really, for me, tells about speed, and kind of goes through some of the emotions you go through when you are driving a car,” described Bottas. “When you’re feeling that adrenaline, and when you are putting the car to the limit and yourself to the limit, there’s lots of similarities to that feeling, and that obviously combined with the video as well. I think it came out really, really cool and I hope, and I’m sure, people will love it as well.”
Working with Hyland
In addition to “Flight of the Valtteri.” Hyland is a partner of both Sauber and Bottas. Our conversation then turned to that relationship, and how Hyland helps the team, and the driver, perform at their best.
“Every partnership is important in this sport, you can’t do anything really, alone. So you need partners and especially partners who have common thinking, common mindset,” described Bottas. “And a similar drive, for always doing something better and innovative, and I’ve personally really enjoyed all the activations we’ve done with Hyland. It’s a really valuable team partner as well that brings a lot to the team.”
In a sport dominated by data — with almost too much data at a driver’s disposal — Hyland helps both Bottas and Sauber prioritize the information at their disposal, with that shared goal of improved performance in mind.
“There’s too much information available at each race, and it’s a lot about how you can prioritize things, and how you can find the right tools to process the data instead of getting lost with it,” outlined Bottas. “So it’s really prioritizing your work, using the right tools to find more performance, and always finding something new.
“Of course, I’m always putting my capacity at the race against the max, but then there’s always the right balance on how much you can take in and how much you can’t. With the team as well,” continued Bottas. “With Hyland and the Formula One team, they use similar tools to become better.”
Bottas’ Fall Break
This week’s United States Grand Prix marks the first F1 race since the Singapore Grand Prix and finds the grid coming back to life after a three-week fall break.
But that break did not find Bottas shying away from athletic competition. In fact, the driver did just the opposite, competing in the World Gravel Championship. We talked about that and more as the conversation took its next turn.
“Yeah, [fall break] went really quickly, you know, it always does.
“I stayed in Europe for the first part. I competed in the Gravel World Championships, which I qualified for earlier this year,” shared Bottas. “So that was one bucket list thing done. That was a really, really nice experience.”
“Actually before Austin I was in Mexico in Baja, California. It’s another place that has been on my list for a while,” continued Bottas. “So, spent a bit of time there, mainly just training and relaxing, and now I’m in Austin. So it went pretty quickly.”
The United States Grand Prix, and Bottas’ F1 future
Our discussion then shifted gears again, to this weekend’s race in Austin. The United States Grand Prix has become a favorite of drivers and fans alike, from the challenging track at Circuit of the Americas to the hundreds of thousands of fans who will descend on COTA this week.
Bottas is ready to take on that challenge, and the final stretch of the 2024 F1 season.
“Preparation has been great. I feel good, I feel fit, and also feel like my batteries are really charged for this pretty solid last part of the season with lots of traveling,” said Bottas. “Yeah, some triple headers, but I feel personally good.
Sauber, still seeking their first points of the 2024 F1 season, is bringing some upgrades to Austin that Bottas hopes will aid the team in that quest.
“I feel good that we have some new bits in the car for this weekend which hopefully will help the performance, and really hoping that we can perform better than what we’ve done in the recent events,” added the driver.
I then had Bottas describe a lap at COTA for me, and our readers.
“The lap around COTA is really cool. It’s a mixture of high-speed corners, some elevation changes, lots of direction changes and technical bits, high speeds, and some bumps as well,” said Bottas. “So, not an easy track but over the years, it’s become more and more popular. So the atmosphere as well, you can really, really sense it in the weekend.
“Like I said earlier, expecting better performance this week and then hopefully first points of the season.”
The conversation closed with a question that is on everyone’s mind: Bottas’ F1 future. Earlier this season Sauber announced that Nico Hülkenberg would be joining the team next year, the last one before Sauber becomes the Audi works operation in 2026. But the second seat is yet to be confirmed, leaving Bottas’ F1 future hanging in the balance. Bottas is one of several drivers under consideration, but the ink has yet to be put to paper.
When can we expect news on that front?
“People can expect news when there is some news,” shared Bottas. “Obviously, I’ve been in discussions with the team for a long time. We are trying to find the right agreement. So yeah, still nothing to announce this weekend for sure. Still working on it. But, yeah, always making progress and I’m always staying positive.
“So eventually, we’ll all know.”
