Valtteri Bottas says his brutally honest Players’ Tribune column was written so others could learn from the hard lessons that shaped his Formula 1 career.

The Cadillac driver wrote an emotional column about his struggles with his weight during his time with Williams, and how even today he has “complicated feelings” about his wingman role at Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas explains Players’ Tribune column

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

It was honest, and it was brutal.

Speaking about his weight issues, the Finn wrote in a column for Players’ Tribune: “I was like a drug addict. “I’ve never felt better!” Ha. Completely delusional. The actual reason I was waking up so early was that my body was in starvation mode.”

He was dealt another blow by the crash that cost his former teammate Jules Bianchi his life at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, writing: “When I was back home, I was just so angry and negative about everything, and I remember my ex asking me if I ever worry when I’m in the car, because it’s so dangerous. I said, “No. If I die, I die.”

“At that moment, I realised that I genuinely did not care what happened to me anymore.”

It was only through seeking help from a psychologist that Bottas could finally admit he was “unwell” and work on himself to become a healthier person.

And then came the Mercedes call-up.

More on Valtteri Bottas from PlanetF1.com

Valtteri Bottas opens up on how he nearly quit F1 over Lewis Hamilton wingman role

Valtteri Bottas’ race-used Cadillac F1 helmet heads to auction

Bottas joined the team in 2017, but found himself in a number two position to Lewis Hamilton with Toto Wolff calling him a “sensational wingman” while James Vowles delivered that “Valtteri, it’s James” line.

“Sometimes, you are told by your bosses that it’s a team sport, and you should slow down and move aside,” wrote Bottas. “Do you know how badly I wanted to just say no? But I had to be a good team-mate. I let him through, and of course he had an incredible season.

“He was the champion. I was “the wingman”.”

He added: “I have no bad blood with Mercedes or Toto or anyone. But the whole situation almost made me walk away from the sport.”

It brought back “the negative Valtteri, the obsessive Valtteri”, with the Finn drawing on his past experience to fight back from that and come back stronger.

“I’m still crazy,” he declared. “I still obsess over all of this. I still think I’m the best driver on the grid. But now I have a little bit of perspective to go with it. I can appreciate it all more.”

Bottas was quizzed about the column when he spoke with the media ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

He explained it was just an honest account of his life in racing from his karting days until today in the hope that someone may learn from his lessons without having to go through it themselves.

“I think it’s important to highlight that we’re all humans and no one is perfect. Everyone has their struggles or has their issues,” Bottas told PlanetF1.com and other media.

“Hopefully somebody can learn from other people’s mistakes than doing it all yourself.

“Part of life is learning about your mistakes. Of course, part of the life is learning about your mistake, but it’s always good to, I think looking at other examples or other people’s mistakes to kind of try and prevent them.”

Bottas’ column was met with applause from fans on social media, who called it inspiring and amazing.

The 36-year-old had yet to read the responses, but he hopes the article shows others there are resources available and the stigma surrounding mental health has changed.

“It’s actually the first time I’m talking about it, because I only shared it yesterday on social media,” he said. “I haven’t checked on it, the comments so I don’t know.

“Seems like people are interested.

“But yeah, just for me it was a nice way to share my story and share some of my things from my journey.”

He added: “I think the whole sport has evolved a lot. Everything is more professional.

“I think also when it comes to coaching, physical coaching, mental coaching, I think that level has gone up. So I think there is more support available.

“There’s better packages for drivers when it comes to mental coaches and stuff like that. So yeah, even that side of the sport has improved.

“15 years ago versus now, I think people are less afraid of seeking for help, seeking for support, because these things are now talked about more.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Alonso sets deadline for F1 retirement decision