F1 reserves, rebound in Endurance… What future for Bottas and Zhou?

They wanted to believe it until the end, but it is now a given: neither Valtteri Bottas ni Guanyu-Zhou will be regular drivers at Sauber in 2025 and then at Audi in 2026. The Swiss team, which will switch to the German flag when the new technical regulations come into force, has in fact decided to bet on the youth of the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (20 years old), current leader of Formula 2 in front of the Frenchman Isack Hadjar, to accompany the veteran Nico Hulkenberg (37 years old) in this transition to a new era.

Aged 35 and 25 respectively, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou do not have the same pedigree in F1, but find themselves at the same stage of their careers. While neither driver has scored a single point this season in the premier class of motorsport, not helped, it must be said, by endless pit stops at the start of the season and a car decrepit since then, they are about to leave the grid with little chance of returning. Not necessarily for the same reasons. Bottas because of his age, even if recent examples of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hülkenberg prove that you should never say never, Zhou by his results. In three seasons at Hinwil (Alfa Romeo then Stake Sauber), the Chinese only scored 12 points, that is to say an average of 0,18 points gleaned per Grand Prix (on the evening of the Brazilian result).

With only one place left to take at Racing Bulls for next year (barring any twists and turns), Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou will probably have to find something other than a regular F1 seat to continue in motorsport. A reserve position in one of the twenty teams on the grid could be a solution. The Finn has also mentioned a potential return to Mercedes in this role. I have to consider all alternatives, including a return to the Mercedes family. That is of course a possibility and I am considering it, but there are also other options. ", he said during the Mexican Grand Prix. A status in which he could assert all his experience. Bottas, like Zhou, could also keep a foot in the discipline by occupying this role of third driver at Sauber/Audi. The financial support of the second named would not be negligible while the Volkswagen group is going to close three factories in Germany with the objective of saving four billion euros. We could also imagine the Chinese returning to Alpine, still in a reserve role.

Endurance as a fallback solution for Bottas or Zhou?

With its massive influx of builders, which shows no sign of stopping, theEndurance could be a fallback solution for both men. As it has been more or less recently for other former Formula 1 drivers, the most recent examples being Mick Schumacher in Alpine et Nyck de Vries in ToyotaNeither Bottas nor Zhou have ever publicly spoken of their interest in the WEC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the IMSA, but Endurance is currently the most popular motorsport discipline behind F1. You only have to look at the list of entrants for the last Rookie Test of the World Championship to be convinced. Places are expensive for 2025 with only the arrival ofAston Martin as a new builder, but Hyundai will enter the competition in 2026 with an LMDh program, potentially waiting McLaren in 2027. So many doors that will open for drivers like Bottas and especially Zhou, who could follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Yifei Ye, winner this year in Austin with Ferrari alongside Robert Kubica and Robert Shwartzman.

What if a more exotic discipline managed to attract Valtteri Bottas? In 2023, the Finn took part in the Adelaide Motorsport Festival where he took the wheel of a former Supercars. In a relationship with professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, the native of Nastola (Finland) has probably become the most Australian of Scandinavians. Participating in the emblematic local championship would bring him even closer to his partner's country. And if he does not continue in motorsport, Valtteri Bottas has shown in recent years that he would have plenty to keep him busy once he retires, between his nude photos and his passion for cycling. He recently took part in the Gravel World Championships in his age category. An idea for a full-time reconversion for 2025?

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