Valtteri Bottas will go away Sauber after the 2024 Components 1 season however is known to already be near signing again with Mercedes as its reserve driver from subsequent yr.
In what has been an terrible yr for Sauber – nonetheless 2024’s solely point-less crew – Bottas’s place past the deal he struck when leaving Mercedes on the finish of the 2021 season, when Sauber was branded as Alfa Romeo, was threatened as plans for Audi’s 2026 arrival accelerated.
First, Sauber employed Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg in a deal masking the 2025 season forward of the Audi rebrand for the next yr, with Bottas’s team-mate Zhou Guanyu departing the outfit.
Sauber then entered a turbulent interval of administration change, with earlier bosses – former CEO Andrea Seidl and chairman Oliver Hoffmann – axed and ex-Ferrari crew boss Mattia Binotto employed as chief working and chief technical officer. Crimson Bull sporting director Johnathan Wheatley additionally joined to be Sauber crew principal from 2025.
In Brazil final weekend Bottas stated doing a brand new take care of Sauber was nonetheless “what I am pushing for with Mattia”.
However over the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend Motorsport.com reported that Components 2 championship chief Gabriel Bortoleto has agreed a deal to race for the Swiss crew for subsequent yr after it missed out on signing Williams-bound Carlos Sainz, its long-held goal.
Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Group KICK Sauber C44
Photograph by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Pictures
“A scenario like that is by no means simple for anybody,” Bottas stated. “However in any case the great and in-depth discussions we had up to now weeks, we realised that the situations to develop this venture collectively weren’t met.
“These previous years with the crew have been an unbelievable journey, stuffed with development, challenges, and unforgettable moments. I’m grateful for the joint experiences in addition to the belief and assist I’ve felt each step of the best way.
“Although it’s time to maneuver on, I’ll all the time carry a bit of this crew with me, and I look ahead to seeing what the long run holds for us each.”
Mattia Binotto, COO & CTO, Sauber Motorsport AG added: “We lengthen our deepest gratitude to Valtteri for the previous three years collectively. He has been the embodiment of professionalism, utilizing his huge expertise to assist the crew’s development.
“Valtteri’s dedication and method have been invaluable throughout a pivotal time in our historical past, and the reminiscences of those years will stick with us for a very long time. In contemplating our driver line-up for the approaching seasons, Valtteri was unquestionably a key candidate.
“Together with his preventing spirit, he continuously pushed the automobile past its efficiency limits. Nevertheless, a call needed to be made. After open and constructive discussions, we mutually concluded that closing situations couldn’t be met so we agreed that it’s time to half methods. Valtteri will all the time have an open door right here in Hinwil.”
Sauber’s choice means Bottas’s present F1 racing profession will probably be capped at 10 wins from 246 races, come the top of the present marketing campaign in Abu Dhabi subsequent month.
However he may but see extra motion along with his former crew, after saying returning to what he referred to as the “Mercedes household” at Interlagos was “for positive one choice and I might take into account it”.
Motorsport.com understands that discussions between Mercedes and Bottas have been happening for a number of weeks, with the squad set to area a crew made up of drivers it has supported all the best way to F1 – George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli – in 2025.
Though the trail again to the full-time racing driver from a reserve position is troublesome, F1 has had a surge in super-sub appearances in recent times.
This was turbocharged by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Hulkenberg, specifically, gaining a collection of sudden appearances for what’s now Aston Martin after leaving Renault at 2019’s finish.
Harm replacements have been required elsewhere and this yr Williams axed Logan Sargeant effectively earlier than the top of the present marketing campaign, though opted to exchange him with its junior driver, Franco Colapinto.
However Hulkenberg’s story is one significantly related to Bottas, because it was his common place within the F1 paddock as Aston’s reserve that helped him keep in common contact with then Haas crew principal Guenther Steiner and finally to a deal to rejoin the grid as a full-time racer with the American squad in 2023.
It’s not at present identified when any deal for Bottas to return to Mercedes may be introduced, however Sauber is predicted to be confirming the deal for Bortoleto – at present a McLaren junior – this week.
