The 2024 season has just ended in Abu Dhabi, and we already feel privileged to have experienced it. For having witnessed a fierce duel between Verstappen and Norris for the world title? No. For being kept in suspense until the final constructors' title race between McLaren and Ferrari? Neither. But for the season directed by Valtteri Bottas. The straight shooter for intimates.
Valtteri Bottas and the 2024 masterpiece
Of the 24 Grands Prix offered this season, Valtteri Bottas is the only driver to find that there was not enough. The reason? He is simply the only one not having scored a single point having competed in all the races on the calendar. Even Logan Sargeant scored 1 point in 2023, which tells you the magnitude of Valtteri's feat. To find a driver who finished the season with zero points after having competed in all the races, we have to go back to 2021 and the legendary Mick Schumacher – Nikita Mazepin doublet. And the icing on the cake, guess what? His main competitor to obtain this title this year was none other than his teammate Guanyu Zhou. But the Chinese finally broke down in the 23rd race, in Qatar.
However, this beautiful story could have ended in Abu Dhabi for Valtteri. The Finn qualified ninth, just ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and only eight thousandths from 8th place. But from the first lap, the collision with the Mexican ruined his race. So lost for lost, 30 laps later, the Finn missed his braking by only a few dozen meters and ended up in the Haas of Kévin Magnussen. Bottas returns to his pits for the last time on three wheels. Finnish panache.
If we take out the calculator, we realize that Valtteri is riding a much tastier dynamic than 24 failures in a row. Add to that the six sprint races this year, the last five Grands Prix of last season as well as the two sprints, and you get a streak of 37 consecutive starts out of the points. The last time Bottas scored a point was on October 8, 2023, and an 8th place in… Qatar of course. That is to say a shortage of 427 days, ongoing series. It remains to be seen whether the Finn will have the opportunity to return to an F1 car to extend his masterpiece.
