On Wolff's advice, Bottas uses "negative" image for motivation

Valtteri Bottas normally starts the season fairly well, but the 2021 season has been a difficult one for him. He's retired from two of the five races and currently sits fourth in the championship. Nevertheless, the Finn remains motivated to get the best out of himself and he has a special way of doing so.

Photo of a rival

The driver who took Nico Rosberg's place after his sudden retirement is struggling to step out of the shadow of Lewis Hamilton who has won every championship since 2017. Time and again Bottas says he's ready, but bad luck, difficulty on track and unfortunate moments seem to be getting in the way of real success stories.

This is something team boss Toto Wolff has talked to Bottas about on several occasions and the Austrian has an interesting way of motivating his people. Namely putting your rival in front of you during daily activities. To Motorsport.com Wolff after the Spain GP said, "You could place a photo of that person in the calendar or on the desk, and every time there is a little lack of motivation, you look at these people."

This advice is taken, as Wolff says he sees it occur regularly with the people he works with. Bottas has also taken the advice to heart, but he's not necessarily picking on a rival, but more of a negative image. "I don't carry a picture of Lewis or Max in my pocket," the Finn says when asked.

"I won't tell you"

"I have one, actually inspired by the chats with Toto last year," Bottas said. "I have one thing on my computer, a desktop picture, that is a motivation to me every time I open the computer. "It's not really a positive thing. It's a negative thing that always reminds me to show them what I can do."

The follow-up question, of course, is what exactly that picture is, but Bottas won't divulge that, saying, "I won't tell you."