Bottas honours Aborigines: 'Lots of interest in Australian history'

Valtteri Bottas has a warm relationship with Australia these days. The Alfa Romeo Finnish driver is currently in a relationship with an Australian girlfriend and calls the country his second home. Ahead of the Melbourne Grand Prix, Bottas was at a motorsport festival in Adelaide last weekend.

To celebrate his connection with Australia, Bottas will drive the race this weekend wearing a helmet that honours Aboriginal culture. The specially designed helmet will be sold after the Grand Prix through the website F1 Authentics, Alfa Romeo reported in a press release. Proceeds will go to Save the Children, the charity the team actively supports, and Koorie Academy Basketball.

Expressing themselves with special helmets

Commenting on the special helmet, Bottas said, "I have a keen interest in design, this shouldn’t be a surprise, and I like to express myself through my special helmets. Australian culture and history are something I have taken a keen interest in recent years, especially through my partner, Tiffany, who is from here, and we were committed to paying a special tribute to the Indigenous community. Hence, the collaboration with Ricky was born.”

Ricky is Ricky Kildea, an artist of Aboriginal descent. He designed the helmet, two of which were eventually made. One of them is on sale at the auction until 11 April.