Valtteri Bottas will depart Sauber after the 2024 System 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 staff – 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 protecting 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 staff boss Mattia Binotto employed as chief working and chief technical officer. Purple Bull sporting director Johnathan Wheatley additionally joined to be Sauber staff 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 System 2 championship chief Gabriel Bortoleto has agreed a deal to race for the Swiss team 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 Photos
“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 prior to now weeks, we realised that the circumstances to develop this undertaking collectively weren’t met.
“These previous years with the staff have been an unbelievable journey, filled 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 at all times carry a chunk of this staff with me, and I stay up for seeing what the long run holds for us each.”
Mattia Binotto, COO & CTO, Sauber Motorsport AG added: “We prolong 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 staff’s development.
“Valtteri’s dedication and method have been invaluable throughout a pivotal time in our historical past, and the recollections 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 incessantly pushed the automobile past its efficiency limits. Nevertheless, a call needed to be made. After open and constructive discussions, we mutually concluded that ultimate circumstances couldn’t be met so we agreed that it’s time to half methods. Valtteri will at all times have an open door right here in Hinwil.”
Sauber’s resolution 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 might but see extra motion together with his former staff, after saying returning to what he known as the “Mercedes household” at Interlagos was “for positive one choice and I might think about it”.
Motorsport.com understands that discussions between Mercedes and Bottas have been occurring for a number of weeks, with the squad set to subject a staff 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 nicely earlier than the top of the present marketing campaign, though opted to interchange 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 staff principal Guenther Steiner and ultimately 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.
