While the future of Valtteri Bottas is not yet clear, the Finn still has two options on the table. A test driver place could be allocated to him at Mercedes, following the announcement of Mick Schumacher's departure, the German has been confirmed by Alpine in the WEC endurance championship. But unfortunately, a seat as a starter is almost impossible. Its current Sauber team has opted for a brand new line-up made up of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Recently, the native of Nastola spoke about his chances of joining a steering wheel within the Red Bull family. Something he immediately dismissed, confiding that “I feel like there are people at Red Bull who don't really like me, and that's a reason [pour ne pas m’attendre à ce qu’ils me contactent]. So I don't know, I don't think it's an option, but that's my feeling”. Sergio Perez's place would not be offered to him, the red bull brand would rely more on its drivers, in particular Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Yuki Tsunoda.
A future in the US?
According to comments collected by our colleagues at Motorsport.com, Valtteri Bottas would have received a firm offer from the American single-seater championship, Indycar. A few hours before the start of the race weekend in Qatar, the Finn would be interested in participating in the Indianapolis 500 in 2025, but not for a full season. If by 2026, no offer comes his way, he could well pack his bags for Uncle Sam's country.
“Yes, I have had discussions and approaches about this. I said quite clearly that it was coming a little too quickly for next year. For 2026, there is still a chance of having a good car. The priority is Formula 1. If it's not Formula 1 in 2026, [l’IndyCar] will be really interesting for me. It’s a conscious decision, I think it came too quickly. For example, launching into a full season of IndyCar after 12 years of F1, I just feel that it would come a little too quickly because there is a lot of work and a lot of familiarization to do, etc. So yes, I would prefer to take a little time to see what happens next. I have a firm offer for a full 2025 season but we haven’t really gone into detail about just doing the 500 Miles.”
“First of all, it will depend on whether I am here at every Grand Prix or not. If not, the options will obviously be a little less limited. 500 Miles have always been on my list, I've always been a Supercars fan [en Australie] and that sort of thing. At the moment, I'm staying pretty open and I just have to… first, I have to decide what the next destination will be, and then we'll see. I haven’t been allowed to do any rallying for two years, so it would be nice to get back into it a bit, to have a bit of fun.”
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In Brief
Without a seat for the 2025 F1 season, Valtteri Bottas has no certain future in the premier category of motorsport. But according to the latest information, the Finn has received an offer to participate in the Indycar championship next year.
