The Finnish Formula 1 driver takes advantage of the lead-up to the Mexican Grand Prix to eat at the award-winning taquería.
Valtteri Bottas (Nastola, Finland, 35 years old) has proclaimed himself the official taco taster of Formula 1. After leaving the Mercedes team in 2022, the driver has experienced a second wind: mullet haircut, 80s mustache, and a love for cream colors. He went from being Lewis Hamilton’s number two to a freer driver at Kick Sauber (formerly Alfa Romeo), a team that fights to score a point in each race. Now, whenever he can find a Mexican taco, he tries to fit it into his tight schedule to try a new one. This time he took advantage of the days before the Mexican Grand Prix to visit El Califa de León, the taquería with a Michelin star. Bottas set aside the glamour that accompanies him as a Formula 1 driver to buy some steak, rib, and gaonera tacos and eat them on the sidewalk of Ribera de San Cosme Avenue.
The Finn has dedicated his free time to making the most of each trip with his partner, cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, and promoting his interest in tacos. Last year, during the dates of the Mexican Grand Prix, he launched a collection of T-shirts with the slogan “I’m here for the tacos.” In fact, his helmet had the slogan “All I want is tacos.” During the celebration of the Mexican Grand Prix, the garages are filled with all kinds of Mexican cuisine: from typical tacos to chilaquiles. In 2022, after the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, he got into his armored truck with a caguama, an image that Cromwell posted on her social media to celebrate the point he won after finishing tenth. Before traveling to Mexico City this week, Bottas showed off some Texas-style tacos on his social media. And weeks ago, he spent a few days in the town of Todos Santos, in Baja California Sur.
The Kick Sauber driver has taken advantage of the stop in Mexico to add to his list of places the taco with the highest gastronomic award. Hours before visiting El Califa de León and spreading salsa on his dish, he ran along Paseo de la Reforma and ate a large steak at an exclusive restaurant in the Mexican capital. Some have worried about Bottas and the amount of salsa he put on his tacos or whether his gut flora can adapt to the menu of the Mexican capital. It’s no wonder, in 2019 Formula 1 personnel contracted a stomach illness, including driver Pierre Gasly.
The happiest version of Bottas also faces his possible end in Formula 1 because he does not have a guaranteed seat for the next season. “I trust that I will get a seat, but obviously in this sport nothing is confirmed, so it is never 100% sure until you are signed,” he told Motorsport last June. Meanwhile, the Finn collects another taquería in his logbook.
Source: El Pais
