Bottas reveals he suffered from an eating disorder
Valterri Bottas reveals he suffered from an eating disorder during the early stages of his career in his attempts to ‘be the best’… as he claims he ‘trained himself to physical and mental pain’
- Valterri Bottas opened up on the struggled he has faced during his F1 career
- He said he was so desperate to succeed, he suffered from an eating disorder
- The 33-year-old also revealed some of the other biggest challenges in his life
Valterri Bottas has opened up on the struggles he faced during the early stages of his career that led to him suffering from an eating disorder.
The 33-year-old has enjoyed an extremely impressive time in the sport since his first Grand Prix in 2013.
He has made 200 starts, been on the podium 67 times and won 10 races while racing for Williams, Mercedes and now Alfa Romeo.
Bottas was also a key part of Mercedes’ success in the late 2010s while driving with Lewis Hamilton.
However, the Finnish star has revealed how he put so much pressure on himself during the early part of his career, that he ended up following an extreme diet plan which harmed his health.
Valterri Bottas has opened up on the struggles he faced during the early stages of his career
Bottas was a key part of Mercedes’ success in the late 2010s while driving with Lewis Hamilton
‘I trained myself to pain, physically and mentally,’ he told Finnish journalist Maria Veitola.
‘No eating disorder was officially diagnosed, but it was definitely there. It wasn’t very healthy.
‘I wanted to be the best, and I thought I had to do that. If the team says that I have to weigh 68 kilos and I naturally weigh 73 kilos, then they will do everything for that.’
Bottas also revealed the mental scares he has suffered during his F1 career, which came about after Jules Bianchi – who was a former F3 team-mate of his – died following a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2014.
He explained: ‘I needed a psychologist to help me recover, whose first assessment of me was that I’m almost like a robot who only wants to reach his goal and has no feelings at all.
‘It startled me. It’s true that at that time I had no other life than F1.’
The 33-year-old also went on to explain how he found the 2021 season extremely tough – the final campaign he drove for Mercedes – with several question marks developing at the time about his future in the sport before he eventually joined Alfa Romeo.
He added: ‘That season was more difficult again, when the future was on the line and I didn’t know which team I would drive for.
Bottas also opened up on the impact the death of former team-mate Jules Bianchi had on him
The 33-year-old explained he sought help during the final year of his stint with Mercedes
‘It was a big threshold to ask for outside help. That’s what you think when you’re such a tough guy that you don’t need help, that I can take care of things by looking in the mirror.
‘But a professional knows how to ask the right questions and open a lot of locks. I’m not the only one there who sometimes has a hard time.’
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