Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri B🥀ottas has taken his first rallying win in the Rallycircuit Cote d’Azur event at Paul Ricard.

Fresh from ending his best-ever F1 campaign by finishing runner-up in the 2019 standings to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton with four grand prix wins, Bottas contested the Paul 💙Ricard e♋vent in what marked his latest foray into rallying.

The Finn led five of the nine stages in his Citroen DS3 World Rally Car and beat nearest rival Robert Consani, a former European Rally Championship 𓃲driver, to the overall victory by 50 seconds.

It is the second raꦓlly race Bottas has entered after he won a stage and finished fifth overall on his rallying debut at the Arctic Lapland Rally back in January.

Speaking prior to the event at the♏ season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Bottas said he would not rule out a full-time switch to rallying once his F1 career is over, though he has no plans to make a move in the near-future.

“I enjoy rallying, I find it lots of fun,” he explained.✤ “It’s on tarmac a♒s well, and part of it is on the track, so it could be pretty suitable for me.

“I see itꦍ as a rally with quite low risk in terms of safety or anything. It seems like a nice event. It should be good fun and a good way to start th𝄹e holidays.

“You never know what’s ahead in life or what’s going to happen, but at the moment I like it, it’s a fun thing for mඣe t🧔o do, and it’s also good for me to drive something different, for my skills,” he added.

“I haven’t thought that far, I sti𓃲ll see myself in F1 for quite some time, I’ve got lots to give and achieve and get into my goals.

“One day I’ll see, later, what I want to do. For the moment I find it a lot of fun. I would say never say never.𒅌”