Valtteri Bottas’ best moments from his 2025 ‘gap year’

After a year away from the Formula 1 grid, Valtteri Bottas will make his highly anticipated return to racing in 2026 with Cadillac alongside new team mate Sergio Perez. Bottas could have had a quiet 2025 on the sidelines, but the Finn was a busy man even without a full-time seat! While serving as Mercedes’ reserve driver for the season, the adventure-loving Finn enjoyed a truly memorable ‘sabbatical.’

Remember, this is the driver who once completed an Ironman from inside his villa in between race weekends in 2024 – so with no lights out to contend with last season, his appetite for an outrageous side quest only grew. Sporting challenges, epic experiences, and regular paddock cameos ensured Bottas was never bored – even without the thrill of F1 racing.

If you struggled to keep up with all of Bottas’ 2025 shenanigans, don’t worry – we've got you covered. Here’s a look at how one of the sport's boldest personalities became king of the side quest last year...

Down Under adventures

If Bottas wasn’t already considered an honorary Aussie, he certainly is now after enjoying plenty of time Down Under in 2025. Bottas’ mullet hairstyle, moustache, and laid-back demeanour fit perfectly in Australia, and the Finn finds plenty of time to visit the country that his professional cyclist partner, Tiffany Cromwell, calls home.

Throughout winter break, he threw himself into Australia's sporting culture, catching the country’s Ashes triumph over England, while also finding time to support Adelaide United for one of their games. But of course, he wasn’t just there to watch – he met up with lots of athletes and fans too.

Bottas was always out and about exploring some of the stunning landscapes seen in his ‘second home.’ The Cadillac driver headed out on some daunting hikes, explored beneath the surface during some scuba dives – and unsurprisingly logged some serious mileage on his bike.

Bottas the Influencer

We saw glimpses of it during his time at Kick Sauber, but during 2025, Bottas truly entered his influencer era.

Despite the fact he wasn’t behind the wheel, the 36-year-old was one of the busiest people in the paddock for each race weekend. Amongst team meetings, media appearances, and other reserve driver duties, the Mercedes man became a social media star.

Armed with a bike, a GoPro, and some serious track knowledge, he produced a stream of highly meme-able track tours that often stole the spotlight ahead of race weekends. But it didn’t stop there. Bottas really leaned into his influencer era, as he popped up as a Mercedes fashion intern, weatherman... and teacher.

One of his most beloved social media series was ‘F1 Explained by Valtteri Bottas.’ From testing and race suits to ice baths and night races, the explainer videos were a massive hit.

Each episode provided useful information for any F1 fan, packaged up with Bottas’ trademark Finnish humour to keep things light-hearted but informative. He was even joined by a few ‘special guests’ for various episodes – check out Kimi Antonelli and Frederik Vesti’s cameos!

But nothing quite topped his rollercoaster ride at Suzuka, a moment that Mercedes’ own social media team crowned the best video they’d ever made. When Bottas hangs up the racing boots, he certainly has a career lined up for him in social media.

Valtteri’s Vegas weddings

One side quest that was absolutely not on our bingo card for 2025 was Bottas becoming a wedding celebrant. In true Vegas style, the F1 paddock had its very own chapel for the race weekend, courtesy of LEGO – where fans could go to get hitched by an Elvis impersonator. It was Vegas romance at its peak!

However, one lucky couple’s special day became that much more magical when Bottas showed up to officiate their wedding. Obviously, he was a natural – and we wouldn’t be surprised if we see more Bottas-hosted weddings in the future!

Active King

Staying active and travelling the world are two things that Bottas prioritised last year, but without full-time F1 commitments, he really took it to another level. The Finn loves his water sports, as shown by his Cadillac announcement post on Instagram, and there aren’t many better places to do it than Brazil.

Before the Interlagos race weekend, Bottas had a go at some surfing – and he looked like a natural. He also found time on his trip to South America to do some running along some picturesque beaches in Peru.

Cycling is a classic hobby for many F1 drivers, but Bottas most likely racks up the most miles in the whole paddock – just check out his Strava if you don’t believe us. He spent plenty of time getting the miles in on each F1 circuit, but he also headed to some exciting locations in between races for an adventure – even finding himself up a volcano on one of his rides in Hawaii!

You can take the man out of a race car, but you can’t stop him from racing – Bottas competes at a pretty high level on his bike too. He participated in a few cycling races in 2025 – even placing top three at the Australian Gravel Nationals in his masters age group. Not bad at all for an athlete who’s used to four wheels!

Just when you thought there might be a sport Bottas wouldn’t excel at, he proved otherwise. Swapping wheels for foils, Bottas took his need for speed from the track to the water with SailGP’s Danish ROCKWOOL Racing Team – and promptly became the fastest sixth (VIP) sailor in SailGP history!

Don’t worry though, Bottas showed that he can take his foot off the gas and let his mullet down sometimes – just check out his dancing! We don’t reckon he’ll be winning awards with his two step any time soon... but we’ll be happy to be proven wrong!

Bottas behind the wheel

While 2025 didn’t feature Bottas on the grid, it certainly didn’t keep him out of the cockpit as he still had plenty of opportunities to get back behind the wheel. In his role as Mercedes’ reserve driver, he logged valuable mileage during testing days – providing key data for the team while enjoying the chance to drive one of the world’s fastest cars on some pretty cool tracks.

As Mercedes’ third driver, Bottas also represented the team at events around the world – and did so in some spectacular settings and cars. From lighting up the tarmac with donuts in Korea to charging up the famous hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he fully embraced the showman side of the job.

Add in a Melbourne showrun of the 1999 BAR – the first car built in Brackley – and a full-throttle outing in a Mercedes 190E DTM car at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, and it was clear that despite not racing in F1, Bottas was still having some serious fun behind the wheel.

He even returned to wheel-to-wheel action at the prestigious Race of Champions in Sydney, representing Team Finland alongside Finnish motorsport legend Heikki Kovalainen. Taking on some familiar faces like Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher, while building on an impressive previous appearance in snowy Sweden 2023 – Bottas was a fan favourite Down Under!

Cadillac countdown

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait too long for the ten-time race winner to return to the grid. In August, it was announced that Bottas would be joining Cadillac for the 2026 season – with Bottas teasing the move first... and obviously he did it in his signature eye-catching, double-take-causing style.

Next came the goodbye to Mercedes. Having driven for the team from 2017 to 2021 – a spell that delivered 10 Grand Prix wins – and then returning as their much-loved reserve driver in 2025, this was always going to be an emotional farewell for Bottas and the team.

In a heartfelt message shared on social media, Bottas thanked Mercedes for welcoming him back during what he called his “gap year”, describing the team as a family that will “always have a special place in my heart”. Reflecting on his time as third driver, he spoke of gaining an even deeper respect for the team, the sport and every person involved – a classy move from the Finn.

And to complete the team transition was the all-important seat fit with Cadillac, with the Finn looking relaxed and excited for what’s to come next season – and so are we!

Mullet upkeep

Arguably the most important side quest of the year was the upkeep of his famous mullet. And of course, it continued to look immaculate all season long. He headed to barbers on the road, engaged in an impressive amount of ‘mullet chat’ with paddock guests and sports stars, and even confirmed that he never wants to shave his moustache or lose his mullet – a relief to all F1 fans everywhere.