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Following a stint behind the wheel of a Larry Perkins VK Commodore, the Sauber F1 driver appeared on stage in front of a massive crowd.
There, Bottas was presented with a cap by Speedcafe, proclaiming him an honorary Australian.
The presentation was led by Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft and was followed by a rendition of Waltzing Matilda with lyrics suitably adapted to reflect Bottas’ adopted nationality.
“Thank you. I’m speechless,” he sat as he donned the cap.
The 34-year-old is a familiar face in Adelaide as he has spent the last two summers in the South Australian capital during the F1 off-season.
Bottas returned to the City of Churches as part of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival this weekend, his second appearance at the event after being named one of its ambassadors last year.
Attending the event on Sunday, the adopted Aussie took the wheel of a Perkins Engineering-built Holden VK Commodore as raced by Larry Perkins and Denny Hulme in the mid-1980s.
He also jumped in a Barabham BT62 as part of an Invitational class and sampled the Adrian Newey-designed March CG891, as campaigned throughout the 1989 F1 season.
It came after he drove the 2016 Bathurst-winning Holden Commodore at last year’s event.
As well as taking the wheel on multiple occasions, he participated in a Q&A discussion with Croft where he answered questions from fans.
From Adelaide, Bottas will head to Melbourne next weekend for the third round of the F1 season.
He heads there with results of 19th and 17th in the opening two rounds of the year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively, while Sauber sits eighth of the 10 teams in the constructors’ championship.
Stay tuned to Speedcafe’s social media channels for a chance to win one of the hats signed by Bottas.
Bottas becomes an honourary Aussie
