The F1 driver who went from being an army sniper to winning 10 races

Many of us have made major career changes, but few have been as drastic as the one experienced by Valtteri Bottas. The Formula 1 favourite has revealed details about his stint as a sniper during mandatory Finnish military service.

The 10-time Grand Prix winner was compelled to undertake his nation's compulsory military duties between 2008 and 2009, whilst ascending the ranks towards F1. In 2008, Bottas was racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup series, defeating future F1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne to claim the championship.

The subsequent year saw him progress to the Formula Three Euro series, securing third place whilst driving for ART Grand Prix. However, sandwiched between these achievements, he went through military service which remains compulsory in Finland.

Fortunately for the future Williams, Mercedes and Sauber driver, his deployment was shortened to six months, ensuring it didn't derail his motorsport ambitions. During an appearance on the Red Flags podcast, Bottas' disclosure prompted presenter Guenther Steiner to quip: "You cheaped out."

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Bottas then provided further details of what it was like to put his motorsport dreams to one side for that spell. He said: "Because I was racing. But in six months of Finnish winter, I became a sniper.

"Yeah, oh you know, like a... I don't think 'scout' is the right word, but the one who goes behind or in between the enemy." And Bottas made it clear that you wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of him in a combat situation, adding: "I was a good shot. That's why they made me kind of a sniper."

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Upon returning to motorsport, the Finn continued his winning streak. Following his triumph in the 2011 GP3 Series after a dramatic late-season comeback, he was elevated to test and reserve driver status at Williams. The following year, Bottas completed FP1 sessions in all but five rounds of the 2012 F1 schedule before stepping into the series full-time with a struggling Williams team.

However, the Grove team's fortunes turned around at the start of the turbo hybrid era, and the Finn scored nine podiums, before joining Mercedes to replace Nico Rosberg. In five years as team-mate to Lewis Hamilton, he won 10 races to ensure his place in the F1 history books.

Despite the disruption to his budding motorsport career, Bottas looks back on his time in the military fondly. "Looking back at it, it was actually fun," he previously told People "But for sure, sometimes when I was there, it was not so much fun. Like when you're tired and sleeping in the freezing cold forest for two weeks. But to me, it makes a boy a man. That is kind of the transition for many people, and to me, it did exactly that.

"You definitely learn resilience. You learn a lot about teamwork. Because you need to work as a team when you're in extreme conditions or situations. You learn self-discipline for sure. And respect, in a way, for everything. That time also made the small things in life feel more serious. Like having a warm and soft bed after some of the camps was a luxury."