Bottas: You should only do what you love.

      Valtteri Bottas has quite a few successful business projects, which we have talked about, and in particular, he has his own brand of Australian wine named Ihana, which means "beautiful, delightful" in Finnish. Of course, he does not produce the wine himself. This Shiraz is created by Corinna Wright, a well-known Australian winemaker, and together with her, Valtteri was invited to participate in the themed podcast The Wined Up. The podcast host jokingly said that since Valtteri already has his own gin Oath and his own wine, it would make sense to also establish his own beer. By the way, one of the popular varieties of Australian beer is called Victoria Bitter, and the most noticeable element of the bottle and can design is the abbreviation VB, which looks like the initials of the Finnish racer. "It seems everyone thinks my next project should be something related to alcohol!" Valtteri laughed. "But since 2020, I also have a stake in a Finnish company that roasts coffee. This is another one of my passionate hobbies. All the projects I am involved in must truly excite me. I don’t want to waste energy, as my main job, Formula 1, takes a lot of time and effort, and to maintain the right balance, I should only engage in what I enjoy. I think I already have enough different things going on, so I don’t have plans to take on anything else for now, but again: never say 'never'! Maybe someday I will have my own winery." When Valtteri was asked if he had let other drivers try his wine, he said: "Yes, Daniel Ricciardo tried it – he also has his own brand of Australian wine. And I think when he tasted Ihana, he felt a bit of envy! He said the wine is wonderful. As for Sergio Perez, my teammate at Cadillac, he likes wine, but he prefers tequila. However, he hasn’t tried my wine yet, but I have no doubt he will have that chance!" Speaking about the new team he is collaborating with since 2026, Bottas emphasized: "We are not at the level we want to be yet, but we will definitely get there. Right now, we need to determine in which areas we need to improve, how quickly we can make progress, but the most important thing is that we already have the car! That in itself is a wonderful achievement, and I am thrilled to be back in Formula 1, that we have started something completely new, as I am racing for a new team for the first time in my career – in fact, they appear in the World Championship quite rarely. In general, racing and wine production are very different fields; it’s like 'yin' and 'yang'. Racing is my favorite job, my passion. But it is a very hectic and noisy business, associated with strong stresses. And wine for me is such a factor that helps achieve balance, as it is the complete opposite. Therefore, both activities bring me immense pleasure."