After nine years, 200 races and 10 Grand Prix wins, Valtteri Bottas is experiencing something new: for the first time in his career, he is the one to give directions. Five seasons as Lewis Hamilton’s wingman at Mercedes left Bottas in need of a change. Now, reunited with his old team boss

Frederic Vasseur and joining Alfa Romeo with F1 rookie Zhou Guanyu, gave him the chance to be the focal point.

Just a few races in, Bottas has already noticed a big difference. “I really feel a big part of the team,” Bottas told The Race.

“And it’s been really nice to have proper authority on things”.

Bottas is nailing the F1 transition from co-star to the main chapter.

“If I ask for something it happens, and everyone really listens. And I’ve been able to motivate some people.

“It’s just a really motivated and good feeling in the team now, everyone is really trying hard. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do but of course, the results, like at first race, scoring those points, you could see how uplifting it was for people, and that helps.

“I’m really happy how things are going with the team and my role. 

“I feel like I’m not just driving the car. I feel like I am a bit more than that.

“I’m not just a driver, but also an important team member.”

Of course, Bottas was an important team member at Mercedes, and he is aware of it. He had a central role in securing eight consecutive world championships and in helping Hamilton dominate on track. There’s certainly no indication he feels the team actively undermined him or didn’t appreciate his contribution.

However, he is also conscious that his value to Alfa Romeo is greater than it was to Mercedes. While part of the Silver Arrows, he was in Hamilton’s shadow: there was a natural centre of gravity towards its seven-time world champion.

 “It was always quite difficult in the past to really step up. And I think Lewis also in a team is quite a dominant person in a way,” says Bottas.

“It was pretty clear that I couldn’t have the same role there as what I have here.”

Bottas was just part of the band. Now he’s the frontman. Alfa Romeo Team Principal Frederick Vasseur tells The Race that this was the whole point of signing him.

“For Valtteri, it was a new job description,” says Vasseur. “A new position, new role. And he was keen to do the move.

“This was part of the positive side of our discussion. I was looking for someone like this. He was looking for this kind of position. That fitted together.

“When you are the team-mate of Lewis or Max [Verstappen] it’s quite natural that the team is going first to Max or Lewis”.

 “It’s not that they are not considering the [other driver] but in the end, you are the second one.

“I don’t want to say that we have a first one and a second one, but I think that for the team, it’s good to have someone acting or showing direction, playing this kind of role.”

From a mental point of view, Bottas is relishing this move too, whether it’s guiding the team on set-up tests or run plans, he really feels empowered as his input into future mechanical or aerodynamic developments is considered high-priority.

“For sure it goes naturally as well because obviously my team-mate as a rookie and is relying quite a bit on like my data as well and my feedback to compare to me.”

Zhou’s presence in the team is another example of how Bottas has settled naturally into his leadership role. Bottas has always been praised for his teamwork so it’s no great surprise to see the interest he has taken in helping Zhou get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“I want us to be a really strong pair of team-mates,” he says. “So that’s why I want to help him because I want both of us to score points.”

 This attitude is certainly a result of Bottas’s experience at Mercedes. He has spoken previously of how he learned about the value of having the right working culture in a team and wanted to bring that with him to Alfa Romeo.

In terms of performance, Bottas can be quite satisfied. If it wasn’t for a reliability issue in Jeddah, he would have had three-point finishes in the first three races of the season. Moreover, he has out-qualified a Mercedes in two of the opening three grand prix (lining up alongside Hamilton and ahead of his replacement George Russell in Bahrain!) while his former team struggles to find the right speed.

“I definitely hoped that it would be a step from previous years. But actually, it’s a decent step.

“And, you know, being pretty much able to fight with Mercedes for example, that’s maybe beyond what I could think of!

“But, yeah, absolutely. Now, as soon as we can hopefully fix the reliability issues, then I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to fight for points and sometimes even good points in every single race.”