Valtteri Bottas is back at Mercedes for the 2025 season (Image: Getty)
jokingly threw a brutal dig the way of his former engineers at the launch of a new partnership between Adidas and .
Bottas spent five seasons with between 2017 and 2021 – a period of time that returned four Drivers’ Championship titles for ex-Silver Arrows ace and five Constructors’ Championship wins.
Upon leaving , the Finnish driver spent a further three seasons behind the wheel at Alfa Romeo and then Sauber, and ahead of the 2025 campaign getting underway, Bottas returned to the Brackley-based outfit as a reserve driver.
He’ll shadow and teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli throughout 2025, but he might be getting some awkward looks from the team’s engineers, after appearing to criticise their pit-stop times.
Taking part in a shirt-printing exercise at the Brackley base, Bottas was unimpressed with how long the process was taking.
The Formula One ace, tongue firmly in cheek, said: “And then we wait for 30 seconds… It’s still faster than some of my pitstops!”
It took a while for the joke to land but when it eventually did, Bottas’ joke returned some laughter from those attending the event.
Of course, isn’t the only constructor Bottas plied his trade with, meaning the jibe could be aimed at any of his former teams instead.
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Valtteri Bottas enjoyed a successful stint with Mercedes (Image: Getty)
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And given Bottas secured two championship runner-up positions with , he’s likely to remember his time with the German outfit fondly.
However, that didn’t stop team principal from throwing a jibe of his own upon Bottas’ return to the fold.
Speaking to RN365, Wolff took aim at Bottas’ new mullet hairstyle, saying: “We are , so maybe the nude calendar is not on anymore.
“So we’ve said that, but we need to keep him authentic. If he wants to keep the ugly mullet, then he should,”
When the serious business does get underway though, one of Bottas’ main tasks will be helping Antonelli through his maiden season in a Formula One car.
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On the prospect of working with the veteran, Antonelli told Sky Sports F1: “He’s been a good team-mate.
“So far he’s been helping me; we’ve been chatting quite a bit also about the car and also race weekends. So he’s been giving me some feedback and some advice.
“Also with Valtteri, I was able to meet him for the first time and start to build a relationship. I’m also looking forward to working with Valtteri beside George, also because Valtteri is a really experienced driver.”
The 2025 Formula One season gets underway from Australia next month.