Valtteri Bottas is the proud new owner of an Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm

Valtteri Bottas - who, as you may recall, drives in F1 for Alfa Romeo - has taken delivery of his brand new Giulia GTAm. Which, as you may recall, is made by Alfa Romeo.

Despite the obvious link, Alfa insists that Bottas has made the purchase of his own free will, stating that his ‘desire’ to own the hardcore versions of the already-quite-hardcore saloon ‘represents a manifestation of personal union with the brand’. Hmm.

Putting our scepticism on ice for a sec, this is actually a great example of cool-car-meets-cool driver. Bottas has become something of a cult hero since departing Mercedes (seriously, check out his new race helmet from testing in Bahrain), while the appeal of a 532bhp bi-turbo V6 should need no explaining.

The Giulia GTA was meant to have sold out about 18 months ago, although Alfa said at the time it would open a reserve list of interested customers who missed the limited, 500-unit run in case any buyers pulled out at the last moment.

Bottas’s move from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo had been announced a few weeks prior to that news, meaning he either got his name down the moment he switched teams or the list was miraculously short.

“I'm clearly a lifelong car enthusiast,” said Bottas. “But most of all I love the Alfa Romeo brand. It is an honour for me to be an ambassador of the brand and now to become a customer, owner of one of the 500 Giulia GTAs.

“It's a technically excellent vehicle, realised in collaboration with Sauber Engineering by leveraging the expertise and technical know-how that comes directly from Formula 1, but for us car and motorsport enthusiasts it represents so much more. It revives one of the legends of motorsport, the 1965 Giulia GTA, and perfectly embodies the brand's DNA, passion for motorsport, driving pleasure and a unique and distinctive styling appeal.”

2023 is the last season in which Alfa Romeo will be associated with F1 for the foreseeable future, as it’s reaching the end of its sponsorship deal with Sauber. Which, as you may recall, is being taken over by Audi. What are the odds on Bottas switching into an RS3 eventually?