Valtteri Bottas Is Ready to Win with Alfa Romeo After Mercedes Departure: I'm a 'Stronger Person'

For the last five years, Valtteri Bottas has been a pivotal part of one of the most dominant teams in all of Formula 1. But, the 32-year-old driver has his eyes set on a new challenge ahead.

Bottas and his former team, Mercedes-AMG, split after the final race of last season, bringing an end to a fruitful partnership that included five straight Constructors' Championships between 2017 and 2021.

In September of last year, Swiss racing team Alfa Romeo announced Bottas as one of their drivers for the 2022 season, signing the Finnish driver to a multi-year deal. Now, instead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton as his teammate, Bottas will serve as a mentor to rookie driver Guanyu Zhou of China while setting out to lift Alfa Romeo to, hopefully, its best season in years.

"I've definitely grown as a person a lot," Bottas tells PEOPLE of what he learned during his time at Mercedes-AMG. "Obviously, I've learned how a championship-winning team works and what kind of mindset it needs. I've learned a lot about teamwork. I've learned a lot of technical knowledge."

"I think I've also learned to deal with setbacks," he explains. "Sometimes, I put too much pressure on myself. I've had many ups and downs and learned how to bounce back. And I think it's just made me a lot stronger person overall. I almost feel nothing can really shake me."

At Alfa Romeo, Bottas feels there's a chance for a "fresh start."

"I just feel like the only way is up," he says, smiling.

Bottas proved just that during the first race of the 2022 season in Bahrain, where he finished sixth in the standings to score eight points. (Zhou, his teammate, came in 10th, scoring a point in an impressive start to his F1 career.)

Though there's still a long season ahead, the race showed Bottas' potential.

"It felt good," Bottas says. "Getting both cars into top 10 in our first race together was a great start. It gives a lot of courage and motivation that this project is real and the goals we have set can be achieved."

Bottas spoke with PEOPLE about his time with Mercedes, his hopes with Alfa Romeo, and why he is "obsessed" with Formula 1.

You had quite the performance in Bahrain, coming in sixth. Did that prove that you have the potential for something special during this first year at Alfa Romeo?

Bottas: Absolutely. And I could sense that with the whole team as well. I feel people are working harder than ever. That's the feeling. Because we know that it's so close now between the teams, it's still in the early days [of the season], and if you can make progress, it's actually going to show immediate results.

But you almost have this fear, as well, that you don't want to go backward. You want to always progress, and that makes people work hard. And the same for me. It's a joy to put the effort in, to try and progress with everything. I really feel like I'm in a good place now.

You also shared a nice moment with your former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, when you waved to each other from your cars after the race. What's your relationship like now?

Bottas: It's been nice. It was pretty natural. After the race, I drove past him on the in-lap and I heard he was on the podium, so I gave him thumbs up and he did the same. And we actually flew together after the race to Dubai. And we flew from Dubai to Saudia Arabia. So we're still sharing flights. In a way, nothing has changed.

You know, we're maybe not teammates, but still mates. It is nice. We have a good relationship in a way. Because we did achieve quite a bit of things together as teammates. I think that kind of friendship will for sure last too.

Do you think it's difficult to have true friendships with other drivers in F1? It's famously competitive.

Bottas: I think it's quite hard to, yes. It's actually quite hard to properly develop a good friendship when you're racing against each other.

I think we just learned that, okay, racing is racing and outside of track it doesn't matter. I think we both kind of got that yes, we're racing against each other, but then, we can still share flights or do whatever.

I was interested to learn that during your time with Mercedes, you were on a series of one-year deals. That meant you could be let go at any point after a season. Now you have a multi-year deal with Alfa Romeo. What does that mean to you?

Bottas: I think that was quite a big factor in how I felt when I signed with a team. Because I've really never had it before. Yes, I've had, in a way, long-term contracts, but every year there's been an option from the team side. And that's been the same with Mercedes and even with Williams during the four years I had with them.

So for the first time, I know exactly that the effort I put in today is also going to benefit in the years after. I don't need to look only into the next six months or so, and I don't need to worry about, "Do I have a seat or no?" I can just focus on the work and to me, it is motivating. I feel like I deserve it at this point of my career.

You have a clear passion for the sport, and it's easy to see in your social media posts and segments on Drive to Survive. Many athletes talk about being obsessed with their sport — are you?

Bottas: I would say in a way, because I'm really enjoying it. If I would imagine life without Formula 1, it wouldn't be quite the same. But eventually, I'm sure it'll be quite natural where you had enough of giving everything you have every single year and living out of the suitcase. But for now, I'm pretty obsessed.

You also received a lot of attention last year when you posted a picture of yourself on the podium at a bicycle race in Colorado. I don't think many F1 fans knew you competed outside of the sport.

Bottas: It makes me feel alive. Sport [is about] pushing yourself to the limit. I guess I just need that adrenaline rush from somewhere. I think this may be a bit of an addiction. But also, it's good for my head, like, doing something different that needs a different kind of focus and gets your mind away from Formula 1. For me, it works.

Before your days in F1, you served in the Finnish Army. Did you learn anything there that you've used in motorsport?

Bottas: Looking back at it, it was actually fun. But for sure, sometimes when I was there, it was not so much fun. Like when you're tired and sleeping in the freezing cold forest for two weeks. But to me, it makes a boy a man. That is kind of the transition for many people and to me, it did exactly that.

You definitely learn resilience. You learn a lot about teamwork. Because you need to work as a team when you're in extreme conditions or situations. You learn self-discipline for sure. And respect, in a way, for everything. That time also made the small things in life feel more serious. Like having a warm and soft bed after some of the camps was a luxury.

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With all of the experiences you've had in your life, is there a mantra or motto that you live by?

Bottas: I always say, "never give up." I've learned in life that, quite often, giving up would be the easiest option, but that's never going to be an option for me because I don't want to miss out on what could have been. I'll keep trying.

What are your expectations for the rest of this season?

Bottas: I'm expecting a positive season for us as a team, but that will require a lot of work. I think it's going to be a very rewarding feeling once we get the results that we want. I think that reward, that feeling that comes out of it, those moments are going to be the highlights.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.