Bottas: F1's real Flying Finn

For anyone following Formula 1 over the past decade, Kimi Raikkonen has been the biggest game in town as far as Finnish drivers are concerned. Mika Hakkinen passed the baton on, and Heikki Kovalainen tried his best to snatch it away, but - almost in spite of himself - Raikkonen has remained etched in the consciousness of single-seater fandom as the Finnish superstar.

His particular brand of searing speed, monosyllabic speech and wild off-track partying has imbued him with a unique anti-hero status in F1 folklore. In this age of clean-cut corporate sensitivities, it's probably no surprise that anyone even remotely professing to be the natural heir to James Hunt should prove so enduringly popular with F1 fans. But that aura requires sustenance; it can only remain alive for so long in the absence of on-track derring-do.

Unfortunately for Raikkonen, that was in short supply last year - he endured his worst-ever campaign as an F1 driver, just as a recently arrived, fresh-faced, phenomenally fast Finn enjoyed a breakout season of his own. While Raikkonen spent 2014 wrestling his recalcitrant Ferrari (and being beaten by Fernando Alonso), Valtteri Bottas confidently rode the crest of a wave that carried the proud Williams team back towards the front of the F1 grid.

Raikkonen failed to achieve a podium finish for the first time since his debut season in 2001, while Bottas bagged six of them; Raikkonen recorded his worst-ever finish (12th) in the world championship, while Bottas finished fourth - ahead of world champions Sebastian Vettel, Alonso, Jenson Button and (of course) Raikkonen.

Now, it's fair to say Williams comfortably produced a more competitive car than Ferrari last season (a triumph in itself, even with a Mercedes engine in the back of the FW36), but Alonso beat Felipe Massa in the drivers' championship and finished only 25 points behind Bottas. Raikkonen was nowhere to be seen...

Raikkonen took over from Hakkinen as F1's Flying Finn © LAT

If Bottas follows up with another strong year in 2015 - and Raikkonen endures another one as poor as the last - F1 may well see a changing of the guard as far as flying Finns are concerned. But there's some way to go before we get there.

Raikkonen is still enormously popular in Finland - both on and off the track - whereas Bottas still needs to win races to avoid being cast as the 'new Kovalainen' (who won a single grand prix for McLaren before sliding into career obscurity at the back of the grid). Raikkonen may well be underperforming presently, but his 2007 world championship success and 20 GP wins buy him some time - with his Ferrari team and the public.

Beyond simply wishing Bottas well for doing a good job and having a good car underneath him, Raikkonen is typically dismissive of the subject of their relative stature in Finnish motorsport hierarchy. "I don't really care what the Finns think about certain people, or me; I'm not here because of them," Raikkonen says. "I'm here because I want to do well.

"It's good for him to have a good car underneath him. It takes nothing away from me so I'm happy for him."

Bottas is generally less tactiturn than Raikkonen, although he is unsurprisingly measured when asked whether he considers himself F1's new 'flying Finn'.

"Some people have spoken about that and I've heard some things, but I haven't really thought about it and I don't know if there is anything in that," he tells AUTOSPORT. "I think there is still a lot of support for Kimi, because he won the title and - because he's a bit different than most of the drivers - a lot of people like his attitude.

"He is so relaxed, and his lifestyle is a bit different to some of the others. Many Finns think he is really cool and they support him. It's not easy to become the most-supported Finn at the moment, but Kimi isn't going to continue that many years [more], so let's see when the first wins come and maybe that will change."

For its part, Ferrari has backed its own Finn to turn his sinking ship around, arguing that it's down to the Scuderia's technical team to design a car that can free Raikkonen from the understeer hell he's found himself trapped in since V6 turbo hybrid engines replaced normally aspirated V8s, front wings were made smaller, blown diffusers were outlawed, and Pirelli made its tyres much harder.

If it can successfully square this circle in 2015 then maybe we'll see the Raikkonen of old. But this still may not be enough to derail the Bottas juggernaut, which is gaining fresh momentum by the race.

Williams believes it has 'the real deal' on its hands - a fast, intelligent and adaptable operator who only needs more experience to become a driver capable of winning multiple world championships. It's simply a question of time.

One of the key discernible differences between the two Finns as drivers appears to be their level of adaptability behind the wheel. Raikkonen says he has always driven the same way and refuses to change in the face of adversity, believing he will be most competitive when the car is moulded to suit his high-momentum style. Bottas is more circumspect, saying he will pick and choose his poison depending on the circumstances. This means he can avoid the Jim Clark trap of unconsciously driving around problems without recognising them.

And the 2007 world champion's popularity is without question © LAT

"I think I can adapt to new things quite quickly; even when I tried an F1 car the first time it was only a few laps and I was really comfortable," Bottas says.

"I have to say in the past sometimes that was a problem for me, a negative, because I would jump in the car and the team would want some feedback from me, and many times I would say it feels fine but, because I was just adapting to whatever the set-up was, I couldn't quite understand how to unlock more from the car.

"Then the team would try something and I would go two tenths quicker. Then I thought, 'Ahh shit!' In the early junior formula I was just adapting to it automatically. I've learned a lot since then and I can pick it up better.

"I still feel like I can adapt to a lot of different set-ups and driving styles, but at the same time I've improved to really think about and feel how the car should be improved, so I can get more out of it."

This combination of lightning speed allied to thoughtful intellect has seriously impressed Williams - and no doubt other teams on the grid are looking at Bottas as a future star. His contract with Williams runs out at the end of this season, at the same time as Raikkonen's own deal with Ferrari expires.

Perhaps in time there may be a physical, as well as psychological changing of the Finnish guard. It's probably inevitable at some stage, given Raikkonen is now 35 and Bottas 10 years his junior. Bottas won't be drawn. For now, he's simply happy that his stock is steadily growing in his home country.

"Every time I go there, more and more people recognise me and a lot of them come to me to say, 'Really well done' - they're happy there's a new Finn getting some results," he adds.

"They're happy they can be quite confident in the future that they have something to cheer for, and that's good. For me it's really nice to continue the Finnish tradition because for a long time there has been a Finn in F1.

"Because it's a motorsport country, everybody loves F1 and rallying. So for the Finns it is really important that Finns kick ass in F1. The success for them is very important, so they are not that interested if you are behind. But if you are fighting at the front they really get behind you."

Kimi may not be ousted from his seat just yet, but the name 'Valtteri' is already looming large in his mirrors. It surely won't be long before the 'Iceman' has to make way for 'Bottas' on the Finnish flags that fly in Formula 1 grandstands around the world.

For more on Bottas - including an in-depth Q&A interview with the FInn and his Williams chiefs' views on what makes him so special - see this week's AUTOSPORT magazine