For the first time in his career, Valtteri Bottas finds himself in a delicate position since his arrival in the paddock in 2013. Currently engaged for the Swiss team Sauber, his future is still uncertain for the next Formula 1 season. Announced earlier in the year, Nico Hulkenberg has been promoted within the Audi project. But for the moment, the leaders of the Sauber Motorsport group have still not communicated on the future teammate of the German driver.
At this point, there are only two seats left to be distributed, one at Racing Bulls, but it seems to be destined for Liam Lawson, following the premature departure of Daniel Ricciardo. The second is that of the Stake F1 team. Unfortunately, there are still too many drivers without contracts for the next campaign, including Guanyu Zhou and Kevin Magnussen. In recent weeks, other candidates have been added to the list: Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto. Impressive in the Williams and leading the championship in F2, the two men are serious competitors for the Finn.
“I only want Formula 1”
In the weeks and months since the transfer window, the various teams on the grid have announced their line-ups for the 2025 season. Still certain to be in F1 at the start of the year, Valtteri Bottas is running out of options and could leave the premier class after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. In an interview with the F1 website, the Finn expressed his ambitions and made his goals clear.
“I would say that at the beginning of the year I was in a situation where I had to look at all the options, because you don’t know how the pieces of the puzzle will fit together. But now, for me, it’s really clear what I want. I only want Formula 1, and it will be the same for the years to come. That’s where I’m going to focus all my energy from now on instead of looking elsewhere. With Mattia [Binotto, le nouveau patron d’Audi F1]when he arrived, we got along very quickly. I have a lot of respect for him and I could see that he had respect for me too. And you know, we were adversaries in the past when I was at Mercedes, when he was at Ferrari, and I gave them a hard time. So, he knows that it’s better to have me on his side than against him. I think in the current situation, the team needs experience, and that’s what I…if I were boss, I would take experience, because to get out of this situation [l’équipe n’a pas marqué le moindre point en dix-huit Grands Prix]you need someone who has been part of a winning team, who knows what a team really needs to be successful in terms of factory, personnel, working method. That’s why I think I’m in a good position.”
Since his change of team at the end of the 2021 campaign, the thirty-five-year-old driver feels more comfortable in his skin and no longer feels any pressure after his years at Mercedes. A leader within his team, the Nastola native is more easily able to grasp things.
“Age and experience are two important factors. But then, obviously, I changed the atmosphere [en passant de Mercedes à Sauber]. For the first time in the sport, I had stability in terms of my contractual situation. And almost at the same time, or just before, I got a new partner from Australia. [sa petite amie cycliste professionnelle Tiffany Cromwell]. I think all of those things have allowed me to not take certain things in life so seriously and to have a more global outlook on life, instead of staying in a shell. I think the more you’re in that situation, the more you learn to deal with it. It becomes, let’s say, less personal and less distracting. I think it’s just experience. When you’ve done certain things a few times, you’re like, ‘Okay, let’s do it again.’ But I also feel like sometimes things happen for a season – if something wasn’t meant to happen, there’s always something else, you know? There’s so much to do in this world and in life, which is why I probably don’t get too stressed about certain things.”
“I feel like I have many years ahead of me. I don’t feel any signs of degradation. Every year I feel like I’m learning something new and becoming a more complete rider. I can’t say that I’ve regressed in any area since the beginning. That’s why I think I still have a lot of time left and that I can give a lot to this sport. I’ve always had confidence that there would be someone in the paddock who knows what I can bring to the team and who knows my skills, and I hope and believe that that’s the case. If not… too bad for them.”
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In Brief
Still without a contract for next season, Valtteri Bottas is running out of options for the 2025 campaign. Currently engaged with the Sauber team, the Finn intends to keep his F1 seat in the long term.
