With the 2024 Formula 1 season winding down, there are a few small matters of business left to be decided regarding the 2025 driver grid.
One of those seats? The second spot at Sauber alongside Nico Hülkenberg. While the team has already confirmed Nico Hülkenberg will be in one of those seats — giving the organization a German driver ahead to the team becoming the Audi works operation in 2026 — the second seat is still yet to be confirmed.
Valtteri Bottas, the veteran driver currently driving for the team alongside Zhou Guanyu, remains one of the drivers in contention for that spot. But with Bottas and Sauber yet to score a point this season, and young Franco Colapinto performing well after joining the grid midseason with Williams, there is a chance that Bottas could be left on the outside looking in.
Speaking with the media ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, Bottas conceded that a return to Mercedes, as a reserve driver, might be a backup plan for him.
“Firstly, the priority is to stay as a race driver, that’s what I want, and that’s what I’m pushing for with Mattia [Binotto, the recently-named CEO at Audi],” said Bottas to the official F1 channel in Mexico City. “But, of course, as I don’t have anything signed – we’re in October – I’ve got to look at all the alternatives including going back to the Mercedes family. That’s for sure one option and I would consider it.”
Bottas also indicated that he was in almost “daily” contact with Binotto regarding both a potential contract, as well as technical stuff with the team’s car, and the ball is in Sauber’s court.
“We are in an almost daily basis, keeping in touch with Mattia – sometimes about technical stuff, sometimes about the future,” added Bottas. “We’ve pretty well agreed everything in terms of the terms and stuff like that. Now it’s just, the ball is in their camp so I’ll keep waiting and doing my job.”
Ahead of last week’s United States Grand Prix Bottas told SB Nation in an exclusive interview that when there is news, we will hear news.
“People can expect news when there is some news,” shared Bottas ahead of the United States Grand Prix. “Obviously, I’ve been in discussions with the team for a long time. We are trying to find the right agreement. So yeah, still nothing to announce this weekend for sure. Still working on it. But, yeah, always making progress and I’m always staying positive.
“So eventually, we’ll all know.”