Valtteri Bottas says he is considering all options available to him for 2025 if Sauber chooses not to renew his contract, including a return to Mercedes.
Sauber possesses the only unconfirmed seat on the grid for 2025, with their nine rival teams having already announced their drivers for next season.Bottas and team mate Zhou Guanyu have both stated their desire to team chief operating officer Mattia Binotto to remain with the team in 2025 and race alongside incoming driver Nico Hulkenberg. However, Sauber – who will become Audi in 2026 – are reported to be considering their options, including drivers such as McLaren junior and Formula 2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, Bottas says he is eager to remain on the grid with Sauber next season but would be open to rejoining Mercedes – who he raced for between 2017 and 2021 – in a non-racing role if that does not happen.
“Firstly, the priority is to stay as a race driver,” Bottas said. “That’s what I want and that’s what we’re pushing for, with Mattia.
“But of course, as I don’t have anything signed – we’re in October – I’m going to look at all the alternatives, including going back to the Mercedes family, that’s for sure one option and I would consider it. There’s other options as well but my priority is to be a race driver in Formula 1.”
Bottas says he has reached an advanced stage in his negotiations with Sauber for a race contract for 2025 and it is now up to the team to decide if they want to stick with him.
“We are in almost daily touch with Mattia,” Bottas explained. “Sometimes about technical stuff, sometimes about the future.
“We’ve pretty well agreed everything in terms of the terms and stuff like that. Now it’s just that the ball is in their camp. So I’ll keep waiting and doing my job.”
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Lee That's Me (@leethatsme)
24th October 2024, 22:34
Why isn’t Red Bull considering him? Surely he’s a better choice than any of their current crop to replace Perez.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th October 2024, 23:46
Very true, I keep hearing negative comments about bottas, but he’s proven to be a superior driver at a top car than all recent number 2 at red bull: perez, gasly, albon; he’s not a top driver but surely does the number 2 job properly.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th October 2024, 23:46
If red bull ask me about bottas I’m voicing for him!
Nick T.
24th October 2024, 23:04
Sauber is trying to get Bortoleto. If for some reason he doesn’t jump at the offer or McLaren somehow stand in the way which they said they wouldn’t, Bottas will get yet another season. It seems clear Williams isn’t willing to allow Colapinto to go without the right to bring him back.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th October 2024, 7:28
Realistically, no. Bortoleto may have been mentioned more than Colapinto in this context, but even he hasn’t seemed a concrete option at any point & certainly hasn’t been anymore, most recently.
Bortoleto & Colapinto’s fates are clearly to be a regular reserve driver in their respective teams.
All in all, the matter seems relatively clear that either Bottas stays put or gets replaced by Mick.
Nick T.
25th October 2024, 11:00
Mick is a zero percent option. And, yes, they are trying to get Bortoleto. I’m not sure where you got your information.
Patrick (@paeschli)
25th October 2024, 12:04
And what is your source for claiming they are trying to get Bortoleto?
From what I’ve heard Sauber have proposed a 1 year contract to Bottas and he is pushing for two years. If Bottas refuses to sign the 1 year contract, Mick Schumacher is in play.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th October 2024, 14:34
@paeschli I heard Binotto had said at COTA that if they continue with Bottas, it’d be for a multi-year deal.
Nick T. I’ve simply kept up-to-date with reports about the matter, although the references about Mick are from a Swiss publication called Blick to be more precise, which mostly reports about everything concerning Team Hinwil.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
24th October 2024, 23:26
The fact no other team wanted him post mercedes will probably spell the end of bottas in f1.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th October 2024, 23:49
A shame, he’s good enough to be in f1, but realistically with his speed\racecraft was never gonna win a championship, much like perez, even in the best car, so I can’t say mercedes ended his career, it was worth going there to see how good he could be fighting among the top and getting a handful of wins under his belt.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th October 2024, 7:30
I highly doubt he would return to Mercedes in a mere reserve driver role even if Audi lets him go.
Simply zero benefits for him in his career situation, especially as no other team has clearly desired him anymore, so his time as a full-time driver would most likely be over for good.
black (@black)
25th October 2024, 8:47
Never say never, Hulkenberg career was seen as being finished after 2019 after Ricciardo beat him easily.
He spent not 1, but 3 years as reserve driver for Racing Point/Aston Martin making one-off appearances, and then suddenly in 2023 he was back at Haas.
And just when many people were wondering (including me) why Haas is giving this ‘has been’ a second chance in F1, he performs well enough and gets to lead the Audi project (a full on works team with championship ambitions) in 2026.
I’m not betting my money something like that would happen to Bottas, but I would certainly not rule it out completely.
He’s proven to be a safe pair of hands with vast knowledge of car development and some teams (like Haas or Alpine) might be tempted to bring him back if their rookies flop.
Jere (@jerejj)
25th October 2024, 14:38
@black Valid points & I’ve also considered Hulkerberg’s situation, even if the two aren’t necessarily fully comparable.
Nevertheless, even though neither Haas nor Alpine were seemingly interested in him for next season, they could change their minds depending on how the Ocon-Bearman pairing works, with the latter’s general performance level also a factor, as is Doohan’s while Gasly could eventually leave the team if they keep on only performing badly.
Mayrton
26th October 2024, 11:24
How about retiring. He is slightly better than Perez, but not by much…