Bottas could see himself in another category, but rather in 2026

The Finnish driver, present in the premier category of motorsport since his debut with Williams in 2013, will therefore leave the sport, at least temporarily. Valtteri Bottas spoke about this change, he who will be replaced by Gabriel Bortoleto. The leader of the F2 will team up at Sauber with Nico Hulkenberg next year, the German driver being in charge of leading the Audi project in the coming years.

Bottas expected his place to be more than threatened in view of the coming season, and it was on the Monday following the Brazilian Grand Prix that he learned the news, via a phone call from his team.

“I think the closer we got to that date, the more I realized there were other drivers out there. And of course, you start hearing rumors. Ultimately, I always thought it was a 50/50 chance. And yeah, I got the call on Monday. But at least I know now. I just have to think about what’s next. You know, life goes on. There’s a lot of exciting things coming up. And yeah, I’m okay with that.”, he explained, when asked if he accepted this decision.

The “bad luck” of fighting for the last available place

As rumors send him to Mercedes As a reserve driver for the upcoming season, Valtteri Bottas also explained that he had had contacts with other teams. But the prospect of being part of a major project, with a new manufacturer, in this case Audi, was too important to dismiss. Until the last moment.

“I was unlucky because I was fighting for the last place on the grid. And when that doesn’t happen, you’re on the bench. I spoke to a lot of people before, because obviously at the end of your contract year you want to know what’s going on, but nothing has moved forward. I always showed my interest in the Audi project, but it couldn’t happen and as I said, I was unlucky.”

Valtteri Bottas still imagines the sequel in Formula 1, even if it is necessarily more difficult to project oneself there at the moment. The Finn is open to opportunities in other disciplines, but he also understands that with December approaching, a contract for 2025 would imply that he will have to quickly discover a new car, a new team and new circuits. The year 2026 would therefore become a more reasonable objective.

“The way my F1 career has ended so far is not the best, and you can’t really decide that yourself. I feel like I still have a lot to give to the sport and I still love it. I love racing against the best drivers in the world, in the best cars in the world. That’s what I love. So I’m trying to figure out what the next step is. For me, I think moving to a new category would be too quick, we’re almost in December. I think if I don’t find a place in F1 in 2025, I would consider leaving in 2026. I have to plan a lot of things to make that happen.”

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