Off the starting grid
For the first time since his Formula 1 debut in 2013, Valtteri Bottas will not be competing in the world championship. Although he will remain involved in the F1 environment as Mercedes’ reserve driver in 2025, the two-time world championship runner-up will not be on the starting grid.
The belief in a 2025 seat at Sauber
His absence from the championship is due to the lack of a contract renewal with Sauber, the team he joined in 2022 after his stint with Mercedes. Yet, looking back at last year, Bottas seemed genuinely optimistic about his chances of continuing with the Swiss outfit, which will come under full Audi control in 2026. What initially reassured the 35-year-old was a verbal agreement with Mattia Binotto, Sauber’s Technical and Sporting Director. However, the team ultimately decided on a complete driver lineup overhaul, bringing in Nico Hülkenberg and Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto.
Valtteri Bottas himself spoke about his initial confidence in an interview with RacingNews365: “At the end of my contract, I started asking myself many questions about the future, but I was always very confident that I would remain on the grid in 2025 because that’s how it seemed,” he explained. “For Audi’s board of directors, driver decisions for the future had to go through them, and some really wanted me, but others wanted a change and a younger driver. It was tough because I had always been told, especially when Mattia arrived, that I would be the pillar of the project, so it was hard to fully commit to anything else since I had been promised a seat. Of course, you still want to explore other options, but you can’t commit to anything, so I was just waiting for a ‘Okay, when do we sign?’ That was a weekly question, even though everything had been agreed upon and was ready on paper. When the process got delayed, I realized, ‘Okay, something is happening, and it’s not going to be good for me.’”
Failed negotiations with Haas and Williams
Instead, Valtteri Bottas signed with Mercedes for 2025, the team where he secured all his F1 victories. However, he also had opportunities for a potential return elsewhere for the upcoming season. One option was with Williams, the team where he made his F1 debut, but Carlos Sainz’s arrival disrupted those plans: “There were other opportunities as well. We were in very deep discussions with Williams for a long time,” he continued. “At the beginning of the year, we were also in talks with Ayao Komatsu (Haas Team Principal) for a seat at Haas, but I decided to focus more on Williams. Then, it didn’t happen because of what Carlos brings to the team in terms of financial gains. It would have been a great project, but I believe the key decision-makers at the top felt a change was needed, including in the driver lineup.”
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