Bottas primed for 'Finntastic' debut

HELSINKI - Valtteri Bottas was just six years old when he started go-kart racing - a Finnish kid dreaming of one day winning a Formula One title.

On Sunday that dream will move a step closer to reality when he takes his place on the grid in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton's new teammate at Mercedes.

In January, the all-conquering German team cherry-picked Bottas to replace retired champion Nico Rosberg, giving the 27-year-old Finn the added horsepower he needs to become the fourth driver from his country to win an F1 world championship.

Rosberg's Finnish father, Keijo 'Keke' Rosberg, won in 1982, followed by Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999, and Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Born in 1989 in Nastola, a small community surrounded by the vast forests of southern Finland, Bottas honed his driving skills on muddy and icy roads.

One of the greats of Finnish motor sport, rally world champion Ari Vatanen, describes him as "a level-headed, trustworthy person ... the kind of guy you want on your team.

"He is very analytical and calm. Credible, without any diva attitudes, a guy with his feet firmly on the ground," Vatanen said.

After completing his basic education, Bottas studied auto mechanics at vocational school, continuing his racing career on the side.

By 2009, at the age of 19, he was already competing in Formula Three.

At the time, the confident teenager boasted that within five years he would be driving a Formula One car that would allow him to win the world title.

In 2010, Team Williams made him their F1 test driver, and for the 2013 season he became the second Finn after Keke Rosberg to race for Williams. It's taken more than five years for him to earn a ride capable of winning the title, but now he has one at Mercedes.

"When you can make it to a team that is on top of the mountain, winning championships and able to win races, then it's up to you only," ex-champion Hakkinen said as speculation mounted about Mercedes eyeing Bottas.

Bottas, who played ice hockey - Finland's national sport - as a child and who in his free time enjoys skeet shooting and cycling, has raced in 77 F1 events but has yet to stand atop the podium.

Mercedes, which won three consecutive team titles from 2014, said it hoped for a good fit between Bottas and British triple world champion Hamilton.

"I am sure we are going to be close and we are going to be both pushing each other to do our best," Bottas said after joining the team.

Agence France-Presse