Valtteri Bottas’ F1 future was under doubt following the subpar 2024 season. The Finnish driver is currently last in the championship standings and was expected to be replaced by a younger driver. However, Bottas has reportedly signed a new contract with the Hinwil-based outfit.
According to Blick, an F1 team principal unintentionally revealed that Bottas has signed a new contract with Sauber. The report read, “‘Do you know that Bottas has signed again for a year?‘ a team boss asked Blick in Singapore on Friday during the training break. And this successful man can (unfortunately) be trusted with such indiscretions”
Valtteri Bottas on contract negotiations
“I might know a bit more then other people” pic.twitter.com/OSMd9wRoVg
— Stake (Sauber) F1 Team News (@StakeF1TeamNews) September 19, 2024
The report suggested that the same boss revealed the Audi takeover news about five months before it became official. Nonetheless, Bottas always seemed confident in suggesting himself as a strong option for the 2025 Sauber seat.
Gabriel Bortoleto and recently Franco Colapinto were linked as potential candidates for the Sauber seat. Bortoleto has been doing exceptionally well in F2 and currently leads the championship standings over Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar. Meanwhile, Colapinto’s exploits as Logan Sargeant’s replacement at Williams were quite evident in Baku with his debut points finish.
Still, Bottas was the most experienced option among all these available options. With the team moving into a new phase under the Audi ownership, having two stable and well-established drivers is always better than risking it out with a rookie.
Bottas on his 2024 performance: “I’m driving better…”
Bottas has been in F1 for well over a decade. The Finnish driver helped Mercedes win five consecutive constructors’ titles and is still highly rated. Yet, at the Singapore GP press conference, a reporter asked Bottas if he was driving better than he did at Mercedes amid the Sauber future speculation.
Bottas stated that his qualifying has been rather good this season and he feels he is “getting better with experience”. He added, “I feel actually I’m driving better than what I did at Mercedes, but obviously it’s not that visible.” However, Sauber’s car has not allowed the Finn to replicate his improved performance into points.
The Sauber car has fallen to the back of the grid in the pecking order. Although the team is only about a second away from the leaders on most occasions, the competitiveness of the grid means they’re dead last. It is believed that the team is preparing for the overhaul with minimal focus on the 2024 car.
