CANADIENS’ BYRON HITS THE ICE WITH HOCKEY-LOVING F1 DRIVER
In town for Sunday’s Grand Prix, Finnish racer Bottas challenges Habs forward
The Canadiens’ Paul Byron is faster than a speeding Zamboni.
OK, we already knew that. But now we know Byron is faster than a Zamboni even when a Formula One driver is behind the wheel.
Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish driver with the Mercedes team and an avid hockey fan, stopped by the Canadiens’ practice facility in Brossard Wednesday morning ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Bottas, who played hockey in Finland until age 14, was decked out in full Canadiens gear and hit the ice with Byron to do a few drills together, take penalty shots on a goalie and also have a race on skates.
Bottas’s hockey skills are good enough to play in a decent beer league, but Byron blew him away on skates while wearing a Canadiens track suit and ball cap. It was the first time Byron had skated since the Canadiens’ first-round playoff loss to the New York Rangers almost two months ago.
Afterward, Bottas changed out of his hockey gear and got behind the wheel of a Zamboni for the first time for a second race with Byron. Again, it wasn’t close.
“It’s a bit different than my car,” the 27-year-old Finnish driver said about the Zamboni. “It’s the first time I actually drove it, so I enjoyed it. I didn’t know it could do doughnuts.”
Bottas did indeed pull a few doughnuts on the ice with the Zamboni — which might be a first — and would love to do some more in his Mercedes car Sunday in celebration if he can win the Canadian Grand Prix.
Bottas finished third last year, when he was driving for Williams, behind Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton and Bottas are now teammates after the Finn left Williams to fill the Mercedes seat vacated by Nico Rosberg, who retired after winning the drivers’ championship last year. Bottas is third in this year’s drivers’ standings with 75 points, trailing Ferrari’s Vettel (129) and Hamilton (104).
The Canadian Grand Prix officially kicks off Thursday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with the annual open house for fans from 9 a.m. until noon, with practice sessions Friday, qualifying Saturday and then Sunday’s race, which starts at 2 p.m.
“This year in Formula One, it’s been extremely tight at the top,” Bottas said.
“To win a race you need to get everything absolutely perfect. That is our goal for this weekend and I’ve always enjoyed this track.”
Byron had never met Bottas before Wednesday and will be attending his first Formula One race this weekend, getting a chance to watch the Finnish driver up close.
“It’s always a weird experience meeting someone who’s kind of famous,” Byron said. “We’re all humble guys playing hockey. I know people think the same of us, but to us we’re just normal guys. You meet someone who’s so good in a sport, you definitely have an appreciation for how much time and effort they do. He kind of got me by surprise … he’s in pretty good shape, looks like he works out. He was a pretty good hockey player out there, I was surprised.
“He’s a great driver, so I look forward to seeing his side of the world and see what it’s like being a Formula One driver for a day.”
Byron said he loves fast cars and once owned a Mercedes C300, but eventually switched to a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Now the married father of two young children is driving a “more economical” Dodge Durango SUV with seven seats.
“I’m a family man now,” he said with a smile.
But Byron can live vicariously through his father-in-law, who has a very impressive car collection at his home in Buckingham, Que.
“He’s got a ’71 Mustang Boss, a ’66 Camaro, a ’68 Chevelle,” Byron said. “He’s starting a pretty cool collection. They’re special things to have and something that maybe down the line I’ll get one myself.”
Does Byron’s father-in-law ever let him drive the muscle cars?
“He’s never let me drive them,” Byron said with a grin. “I’m trying to convince him I’m a good driver, so I don’t know? We’ll see.”
Wednesday’s fun hockey event provided a nice break from the pressure of the F1 season for Bottas, and for Byron it was a break from the boredom of a longer than-expected summer.
Byron now lives year-round on the South Shore near the Canadiens’ Brossard practice facility and is already working out five days a week in the gym with strength and conditioning coach Pierre Allard.
“It seemed to work for me last year, so hopefully it will again,” said Byron, who set NHL career highs for goals (21) and points (43) while playing in 81 regularseason games.
Bottas was beaming about the opportunity to wear full Canadiens equipment and getting to share the ice with Byron.
“It was really cool,” Bottas said. “Like a kid in a candy shop today.”
The Zamboni ride was a bonus.
He’s in pretty good shape, looks like he works out. He was a pretty good hockey player out there, I was surprised.