Valtteri Bottas is not revealing much about his prospects in Formula 1 for the future. He mentioned that he has a “priority” for the 2025 season, but is waiting for Carlos Sainz’s decision before making any decisions. Bottas will not continue at Sauber next season, and either he or his teammate Zhou Guanyu will have to leave, as Nico Hulkenberg joins the team. Sauber is interested in hiring Sainz as it transitions to Audi in 2026, but faces competition from Williams and Alpine. Over the weekend, it seemed that Sainz was close to joining Williams until Alpine showed interest in pairing him with Pierre Gasly. Bottas shared that the driver market has been stagnant in the past week, and there is no update on his racing plans for next season. He remains committed to F1 and has actively discussed his future with different teams. He is waiting for one piece to fall into place before everything falls into place quickly.
In response to the question of whether he has made a decision, Bottas stated: “Certainly. I have set my priorities and my sequence, although I cannot disclose them. However, it is quite evident to me what I desire.”
However, the Finnish driver echoed the comments of Kevin Magnussen from last week, stating that drivers without contracts are waiting for the resolution of Sainz’s situation to finalize their own agreements.
“Because someone else must make a decision about where he is going, and that decision will determine how the pieces fit,” he added.
Bottas has repeatedly expressed his belief that he will remain on the F1 grid, but acknowledged the possibility of being left without a seat.
“There is always a risk, but I see… well,” he acknowledged.
“I am still confident that I will be here next year in one of the seats, but as I mentioned last weekend, in this sport, nothing is confirmed until you are hired.
“You can always have discussions and so on, but until the contract is signed, nothing is confirmed.
“So there is also that aspect, but I am not too worried based on my understanding of the situation.”
Bottas admitted that it is a peculiar situation to have his future dependent on the decision of another driver, but it is something he has become accustomed to.
“At first, it seemed strange to me that a driver would have so much influence, but now I understand the reasons behind it,” he explained.
“As you know, this sport is not always fair and there are other factors at play besides pure performance.”
