Calgary, Canada, 05 June 2019 – Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Motorsport Driver, Valtteri Bottas, made a surprise appearance at the PETRONAS Canada headquarters in Calgary to meet local employees, Canadian athletes and students from the University of Calgary Schulich Racing team.
Known for his love of ice hockey, Valtteri was challenged to show off his skills in a street hockey shootout against Canadian Olympians, Mirela Rhaneva and Alysia Rissling, Canadian National team sprinter, Sam Effah, members of the University of Calgary Schulich Racing team, and PETRONAS Canada CEO, Mark Fitzgerald.
Valtteri also shared some words of wisdom with the students from the University of Calgary Schulich Racing team as he helped unveil their 2019 race car. The PETRONAS-sponsored project saw a group of 60 students design and build the racing car, which will compete later this summer.
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Motorsport Driver, said: “I have had a great day here in Calgary with PETRONAS Canada, meeting the local employees and having some fun playing hockey! It's great to have the opportunity to visit many of the countries that PETRONAS operates in and share the story of our partnership with the employees, and to also learn about their roles in the organisation. There is a real passion for sport in Canada so it was interesting to share our Formula One story and speak with everyone today about this weekend’s Grand Prix in Montreal.”
Mark Fitzgerald, PETRONAS Canada CEO, said: “It’s been a pleasure to have Valtteri visit us in Calgary to surprise our employees and meet some special guests. He brought a huge boost of energy to our townhall. Our industry and the racing world have a lot in common – valuing safety, teamwork and delivering technical innovation. It was great to hear Valtteri’s insight on how these topics affect his performance in Formula One. Of course, we also wanted to share a strong Calgary tradition by presenting Valtteri with a white cowboy hat, which I think looks good on him.”