Valtteri Bottas’ intense autumn
It’s certainly not been a boring autumn break for Valtteri Bottas, between the gravel cycling world championships in Belgium and the ongoing discussions about renewing his contract with Sauber. To recap: according to reports from the Swiss newspaper Blick, the annual agreement was practically signed, before resistance emerged in recent days due to Valtteri Bottas’ reluctance to accept a substantial salary cut. As a result, while the potential loans of young South American drivers Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto seem to have cooled down, Mick Schumacher is also back in the running for what is effectively the last available seat on the F1 grid for 2025.
Amidst all this, Valtteri Bottas confirms that he does not want to undervalue himself, pointing instead to the three disappointing seasons with Sauber as a negative spotlight on his F1 career. “For sure,” said the 34-year-old in an interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, “the recent performances haven’t helped. When you’re fighting at the top, you’re in the spotlight, so it’s likely that the last few years have hurt my career.”
The self-nomination for the 2025 Sauber F1 seat
However, this doesn’t mean that Valtteri Bottas is ready to leave the GP paddock. On the contrary, experience could be the decisive factor in helping him keep the seat at Mick Schumacher’s expense: “I don’t have a plan B yet, I think I can still focus on plan A. I always try to stay positive and hope things work out. I don’t have any alternatives in mind yet, and I hope I won’t need them. 2025? I know Nico (Hulkenberg, ed.) well because we often meet during our travels. He also lives in Monte Carlo like me, and I think we’d make a good pair. In my opinion, the team currently needs experience, and that obviously means having two experienced drivers. It would work well, and I think I’d enjoy working with him.”
No regrets about the Mercedes period
Finally, Valtteri Bottas also reflected on his time with Mercedes, during which he was a very different character in the media compared to now: “Now I try not to take things too seriously anymore, but I have no regrets. I can honestly say that I gave everything I had and still enjoyed life, even though during that time I was a bit more reserved and stressed. Cycling? I’m still fully committed to Formula 1, especially because these other projects are structured so that I can choose how much time to dedicate to them. I simply do them with joy and passion, but I still have the motivation I need to do my best every race weekend.” – the Finnish driver concluded.
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