Bottas raises almost €50,000 for rhino conservation with race-worn Baku helmet

Valtteri Bottas has raised almost €50,000 for rhino conservation charity Care for Wild after raffling off the race-worn helmet he wore at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, with the winner drawn at random from fans who purchased signed cards featuring a nude photograph of the Cadillac driver.

Bottas announced the result on Instagram. “We officially have a winner of my race-worn rhino helmet! Thank you all for your support for Care for Wild,” he wrote. “We will contact the winner directly, and the funds to help the rhinos are on their way soon! And all the cards have been posted.”

The one-off helmet was designed by Bottas’s partner, Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell. It features a yellow and orange sunset scene with rhinos and their shadows, and Bottas wore it during race week in Baku in September to coincide with World Rhino Day.

Rather than a conventional auction, the campaign gave every card purchaser an equal chance to win the helmet, regardless of how many they bought. The approach mirrors a method Bottas has used previously — he released a nude calendar to raise money and awareness for men’s health charity Movember.

The funds go to Care for Wild, a South African organisation that operates what is described as the world’s largest rhino orphanage. The charity works to protect rhinos from poaching and rehabilitates animals before returning them to the wild.

The fundraiser offers a bright spot in what has otherwise been a challenging season for the 37-year-old Finn. After a year away from a full-time race seat — serving as a reserve driver for Mercedes — Bottas signed with Cadillac, the American outfit that joined the Formula 1 grid in 2026 as the championship’s 11th team. He and team-mate Sergio Perez are yet to score a point and currently sit at the foot of the drivers’ standings.