Valtteri Bottas is another driver who is negotiating for a 2025 drive but is yet to secure a contract. His priority was always to stay put at Sauber, which will transform into Audi from 2026 onwards. However, with Audi pushing for Carlos Sainz and taking their time to finalize their driver lineup, the Finnish driver is losing his patience.
According to Motorsport Week, Bottas spoke about his contract situation at Sauber and hinted how he may need to look elsewhere. The #77 driver stated, “I feel like at the moment, they want quite a lot of change in the team, probably.”
“Same thing with the driver line-up. That’s how I read the situation, but they are willing to wait for a long time – but I can’t [wait] forever.”, he added.
Bottas admitted how Sauber-Audi is still an option for him. However, their priority to secure Sainz’s services may divert his attention to other teams with available seats. The 34-year-old cited how he would rather do his thing if Audi are not ready to “speed things up” on their negotiations with him.
As of now, Bottas can get seats at Haas, Alpine, and Williams in the lower midfield. The interesting aspect of this driver market situation is that even Sainz is a candidate for Williams. For the Spaniard, the Grove-based outfit is becoming an increasingly likely destination, relative to Sauber-Audi.
Thus, Audi risks losing both Bottas and Sainz to other teams if they don’t take a firm decision on their 2025 driver lineup. As for the Finn, he stated how he is confident of landing a seat for next year irrespective of whether Sauber retains him or not.
Where does Valtteri Bottas stand in the chaotic 2025 silly season?
Being a 10-time Grand Prix winner, Valtteri Bottas has a certain weightage to his name. This puts him in good stead in a chaotic 2025 silly season. However, with the top teams having sealed their driver lineups, it is only the lower midfield teams that may offer Bottas a seat.
Competitively, Williams and Sauber are the two best options in the bottom half of the grid for the 34-year-old. However, he is facing competition from Carlos Sainz for both those seats. Williams’ boss James Vowles deemed the Spaniard as their “number one” target to sign for next season.
Regardless, Bottas feels that he will land a seat at some or the other team. He stated, “I’m confident I’m going to get a seat.” The Finn acknowledged the chaos of the driver market doesn’t guarantee anything until they sign a contract.
Still, he is “not worrying” about not getting a seat, as things stand. As Bottas’ future continues to be up in the air, 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve mentioned how the Finnish driver could have a temporary return to Mercedes.
Villeneuve reasoned how Mercedes want a driver for one year with the uncertainty around Kimi Antonelli’s readiness for 2025. Thus, the Canadian feels Bottas could be an ideal candidate for the Silver Arrows as a stop-gap option before Antonelli gets groomed for 2026.
