“Anyone else getting Merv Hughes vibes?” - Valtteri Bottas breaks the internet with a stunning social media post
Valtteri Bottas once again took social media by storm with a rather quirky post of himself running around on a beach in California.
The Sauber driver has become a social media star lately with his eccentric posts. Along with photographer Paul Ripke, he has produced pictures that have created a wave on X (formerly Twitter) multiple times.
Recently, Bottas also revealed that his naked calendar raised over $150K for the November charity. The calendar consists of semi-naked and naked pictures of himself that he has taken in the past year.
Valtteri Bottas posted another such video earlier, filmed by Paul Ripke. He can be seen running around semi-naked in California, enjoying the F1 winter break.
Fans were taken aback by him and the 70s vibe the video gave. Karun Chandhok, F1 presenter for Sky Sports, compared him to former Australian cricketer Merv Hughes, given his extraordinary mustache.
"Anyone else getting Merv Hughes vibes??"
"OMFG we don’t deserve @ValtteriBottas. He has to be the most fun person in the paddock," another fan wrote.
Bro thinks he is usain bolt," one fan wrote.
"Sorry Max, a got a new fav F1 driver, this is classic," another fan wrote.
Valtteri Bottas hopeful for 2024 F1 season with a 'completely new car' from Sauber
Sauber's partnership with Alfa Romeo as their title sponsor ended with the 2023 F1 season. Heading into 2024, the team has been rebranded and will be called Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Kick has also taken the naming rights of the car's chassis, which will be called KICK Sauber C44.
However, as Valtteri Bottas revealed earlier, that is not the only change that the team will be going through. The car might turn out to be much more competitive. When Bottas was asked about the changes that will be present in the car, he said (as quoted by PlanetF1):
"In this sport, with the margins we have, it’s everything. There’s nothing fundamental, but the good thing is we do have a completely new car with some new ideas, with new people in the team."
After a tough season earlier, Bottas feels that this is a crucial part that Sauber needs for 2024.
"That’s exactly what we need now, so we need to make big steps over the winter. That’s the key," Bottas said.
The team will be running with Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou in the next season as well, marking the third consecutive year with the same lineup.