Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes in 2017 and formed a successful partnership with Lewis Hamilton until the end of the 2021 campaign. It was with the Silver Arrows that he registered both his maiden and last F1 win. Exactly three years ago on this day, October 10, 2021, the Finnish driver registered his last F1 win at the Turkish Grand Prix.
Bottas inherited the pole position from Hamilton, who was given a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new Internal Combustion Engine. The race started under wet conditions on Sunday and Bottas got the perfect race start to lead from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
He, however, lost the race lead to Leclerc during the first round of pitstops with the Ferrari driver opting for an offset strategy. However, with 10 laps to go, Bottas retook the lead from the Monegasque and went on to win the race from the two Red Bull drivers while also securing the fastest lap of the race.
3 years ago today, Valtteri Bottas took the last current win of his career in Turkey. He was joined on the podium by White-liveried Red Bulls.
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Since Bottas more often than not delivered for Mercedes when Hamilton failed to do so, he developed an image of the perfect wingman for the Briton.
Bottas was arguably Hamilton’s perfect wingman
Mercedes signed Bottas in 2017, a year after Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had a fierce battle for the championship. Since things at times got ugly between Hamilton and Rosberg as both saw themselves as the number one drivers of the team, Mercedes no longer wanted someone who would be a threat to the Briton.
As a result, they decided to sign Bottas. Bottas did exactly what was expected of him and helped the team achieve their goals of winning both championships until 2020 before Verstappen controversially won his maiden Drivers’ Championship in 2021.
After the 2021 season, the team decided that it was the right time to replace Bottas and bring in George Russell, who had gained plenty of experience in F1 with Williams. During their time as teammates, Hamilton always spoke highly about Bottas and even picked him as his favorite teammate among all the drivers he has partnered with.
While Bottas had a strong spell with Mercedes, he is now at risk of losing his F1 driver altogether.
Can Bottas strike a deal with Sauber/Audi?
The second seat at Sauber is the only spot that still remains open for the 2025 season and the Hinwil-based team doesn’t seem too eager to give Bottas a contract extension. While he is still under negotiations with the team, several reports have suggested that Sauber is not willing to give him a multi-year extension, which he wants.
: Helmut Marko criticizes Sauber’s potential decision to favor Valtteri Bottas over Mick Schumacher for the final 2025 F1 seat, calling it “incomprehensible.” Marko suggests Schumacher would be a better fit as Sauber transitions to Audi in 2026. If Schumacher misses out, his F1… pic.twitter.com/Cx4YuHIa6N
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) October 4, 2024
Since it’s the only remaining spot, if Audi (which has taken over complete ownership of Sauber) decides that it no longer requires the services of Bottas, 2024 could turn out to be his final season in F1.
Sauber is reportedly on the lookout for signing former Haas driver Mick Schumacher or Franco Colapinto, who has impressed everyone in the paddock in just a handful of races since his debut in Monza.
