Valtteri Bottas’ time in F1 came to a halt at the end of the 2024 season when he didn’t have his Sauber contract extended. The 10-time Grand Prix winner didn’t find a suitable spot on the grid for this season and decided to go back to Mercedes as a reserve driver. However, his career on the track is far from over.
Bottas never really kicked off at Sauber. At Mercedes, he was a superstar who was a reliable deputy to Lewis Hamilton and contributed heavily to the team’s five consecutive Constructors’ title wins between 2017 and 2021. But he left top-class machinery to join Sauber, a backmarker, as he was replaced by Mercedes for George Russell.
At the Hinwil-based squad, Bottas appeared to be invested in a long-term project to take the team ahead but unfortunately, they only kept falling down the pecking order. There even came a time when he found it near impossible to get in the points, which sadly reduced his stocks.
So when the time to decide his future came last year, Bottas decided not to go after a one-year contract at Sauber, and instead perform reserve duties at the team he tasted so much success with. He insisted several times that he would not go after one-year contracts in the sport anymore, even if it meant staying on the sidelines.
However, that’s something he would be willing to change come 2026. “What would be motivating for me is to start a new project. Entering into a partnership for a number of years with clear goals. That’s what I need right now,” the Finn said to Top Gear.
“But at the same time, if a place becomes available in a car where you can fight for good points or even podium places or victories, I would of course like to do that”, he added.
Bottas, by saying this, suggested that he’s open to joining a team for just a season if it gives him a platform to relaunch his career and show, once again, that he has what it takes to succeed at the highest level of motorsport. But sadly, he cannot do that in Mercedes.
The Silver Arrows have Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a lineup Toto Wolff appears to be content with, and is expected to be for years to come. Cadillac, though, could present Bottas with an opportunity.
Set to be the 11th team on the grid from 2026 onwards, the American outfit is on the hunt for two drivers to kickstart their F1 project, and Bottas has been one of the names linked. However, competition is steep, as the 35-year-old is in the same list as the likes of Sergio Perez, Mick Schumacher, and Colton Herta, to name a few.
