Valtteri Bottas was Lewis Hamilton’s wing man for five years having joined the Mercedes team a short notice following Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. Rosberg had battled all year long with his team mate in 2016, finally claiming his maiden F1 drivers’ title.

The arrival of the Finn to Brackley in 2017 saw peace break out across both sides of a previously fractious garage. Bottas went on to claim ten Grand Prix victories during his Mercedes’ years, more than any other driver currently on the grid bar the three world champions.

Valtteri proved the perfect foil for Hamilton, not quick enough to beat him when Lewis was having a good weekend, but there to pick up the pieces for Mercedes when Hamilton had mechanical issues or a DNF. Not having a driver with the consistency of Bottas has proven to be Red Bull’s downfall this year in the constructors’ championship.

 

 

 

Sauber-Audi part company with Bottas

It was announced this week, that Sauber who Bottas has served for three seasons, would not be retaining the services of the Finn for next year despite him leading the Swiss based team to their best finish of sixth in 2022.

A quirk of the way zero points drivers and teams are ranked sees Bottas at the bottom of the drivers’ table despite his 20-1 qualifying victories over team mate Zhou Guanyu. Prior to the sacking of the CEO of the Sauber-Audi project, Andreas Stella before this year’s summer break, Sauber-Audi had opted early this year to stake their claim for Nico Hulkenberg to lead their charge next season.

Yet only this week did the German owned outfit name Nico’s team mate at the same point closing the door in Valtteri Bottas. Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto will now get his chance in 2025 as McLaren have released him from their academy programme given both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have contracts through to the end of 2026.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Red Bull four drivers with the exception of Max Verstappen, Red Bull may yet have an empty seat, but will surely fill it from its own pool of junior talent which leaves Bottas facing a future with no seat in F1.

Perez expulsion in Las Vegas

 

 

 

Bottas Mercedes return mooted

Mercedes are rumoured to be interested in bringing their former driver back to Brackley as a reserve should anything happen to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. They teased their followers after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by posting a picture of Valtteri from the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP wearing his Petronas race suit along with the the caption: “‘I miss him’ and it’s just a sports player”.

Mick Schumacher and the other current reserve driver Frederick Vesti have commitments in other racing series for 2025. Mick competed this year in the WEC in the Alpine hypercar and Vesti is going to the US endurance racing series IMSA with a drive for Cadillac.

Bottas would slot back in to Brackley well following his five years with the team, he knows the majority of the senior staff and the how the setup works at Mercedes’ HQ base. Valtteri posted a goodbye message following the news of Bortoleto’s appointment and Lewis Hamilton was quick to comment with a hugging emoji.

With the most competitive seats across a range of top flight motorsports now filled for 2025, Bottas has no where to go. He pinned his future for next year on landing the Audi-Sauber seat, but lost out as it seems a flood of rookies will be racing in F1 next season.

Truth behind Hamilton early Merc exit rumour

 

 

 

Indycar limited openings

There are seats in Indycar still available at Dale Cone Racing, Juncos Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, but these are not amongst the top drives and Bottas would have to learn driving on various types of oval.

In a video message to his followers on Instagram, Bottas said: “Hi everyone, I guess you might have seen the news that I won’t be racing in Formula One with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2025.

“I wanted to just take this opportunity to thank you all for all of the support out there, in the past, and now and in the future. And also a big thanks to the team for everything. When one door closes, another one opens, and I’m actually very excited for the future and what is next.”

Hamilton replied with a hugging emoji and his current team mate Zhou posted: “Loved every single moment we had mate, best team-mate ever.” F1’s only Chinese driver ever will also be looking else where for a drive next year.

Sky F1 ‘pathetic’ right of reply to mocking from Verstappen

 

 

 

Hamilton “best team mate ever”

Valtteri and Lewis shared a close friendship during their time together at Mercedes’ with Hamilton even having publicly backed his friend to remain with the team into the season of 2022. However, Toto Wolff decided it was time to promote their academy driver George Russell who has proven to be more than a match for the seven times world champion, something Bottas never mastered.

Lewis and Valtteri regularly fly to races together and Hamilton still speaks warmly of their time together as team mates. “He has been the best team-mate I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Your speed and resilience has been impressive but where you truly stand out to me is the human being you are.”

Prior to the sacking of Stella and the appointment of Mattia Binotto at Audi Sauber, the team were planning for two experienced drivers with Carlos Sainz their number one partner for Hulkenberg. 

When the Spaniard signed for Williams, Bottas chances of remaining with the team appeared fairly high. But as Binotto revealed certain so called “conditions” could not be met for Audi and Bottas to agree a deal. The term of the contract appears to have been the sticking point, with Binotto offering a one year deal whilst Bottas was holding out for more. with length of contract.

Bottas said on his Sauber exit: “These past years with the team have been an incredible journey, full of growth, challenges, and unforgettable moments. I’m grateful for the joint experiences as well as the trust and support I’ve felt every step of the way. Though it’s time to move on, I’ll always carry a piece of this team with me, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for us both.”

F1 steward goes public with criticism of Verstappen

 

 

 

Why Binotto ditched Schumacher

Mick Schumacher was a “strong candidate” but rejected for Sauber seat but Binotto explains decision to pass on the German in favour of rookie Gabriel Bortoleto – In a final blow to Mick Schumacher’s bid for a Formula One comeback, Sauber announced on Wednesday morning that the former Haas F1 driver would not be joining the team for next season.

The decision leaves Schumacher without a seat on the F1 grid in 2025 and effectively ends the comeback hopes of the young German driver and son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Sauber CEO Mattia Binotto has explained the reasons behind the team’s decision to opt instead for Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who will join the team in 2025… READ MORE.