F1 Driver of the Year 2014: 3rd - Valtteri Bottas

3rd – Valtteri Bottas 

Average poll score out of ten: 7.7 

Team: Williams Martini Racing 

Car: Williams Mercedes FW36 

Wins: 0 

Podiums: 6 

Poles: 0 

Fastest Laps: 1 

Best Finish 2nd 

Championship points: 186 

Championship position: 4th out of 23 

Valtteri Bottas' breakthrough season will have been helped by having such a competitive car, but the young Finn showed he was fully prepared to make the best use of it this year. 

9th in last year's poll, Bottas had already signalled his potential to the F1 world in his debut season. However, the immediate signs were that he was still inconsistent as an almost certain maiden podium escaped him when he hit the wall in Australia, with Bottas still able to finish fifth despite the subsequent puncture. 

Bottas & Raikonnen

Three times in the opening seven races Bottas managed to qualify on the second row, but Williams was struggling to get the most out of the FW36 and the highest finish remained P5. Then came Austria, where Bottas was disappointed to miss out on pole to team-mate Felipe Massa, but converted second on the grid in to his first podium. 

It marked the start of an impressive run of form, with Bottas turning 16th on the grid at Silverstone in to second place, and then following that performance with another P2 in Germany as he withstood late pressure from Lewis Hamilton. More podiums were to follow in Belgium, Russia and Abu Dhabi, while his qualifying performances – Bottas started from the front two rows in 10 of the final 13 races – marked him out as both scintillating over one lap and consistent in the race. 

Given the right car, wins beckon in 2015. 


Valtteri Bottas in the Crash.net F1 Driver of the Year 
Top 10 F1 Driver of the Year 2013: 9th 
Top 10 F1 Driver of the Year 2012: N/A 
Top 10 F1 Driver of the Year 2011: N/A 
Top 10 F1 Driver of the Year 2010: N/A 
Top 10 F1 Driver of the Year 2009: N/A 



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