Valtteri Bottas may leave Formula 1 at the end of this season – at least as a race driver – to return to Mercedes in 2025 as a test driver.
The Finn is currently with Kick Sauber and has not yet signed a new contract. The future Audi factory team has one of the few open spots for next year, and there are several contenders for the seat, including Franco Colapinto, Gabriel Bortoletto, Mick Schumacher, or possibly even Guanyu Zhou. Team principal Mattia Binotto recently told Reuters that the decision on who will partner Nico Hülkenberg should be made by mid-November.
In a situation of uncertainty regarding his future, Bottas said, as quoted by ESPN, that his priority is to continue racing… while not ruling out a return to Mercedes as a test driver:
– Firstly, the priority is to stay as a race driver — that is what I want, and that is what we are pushing for. But of course, as I don’t have anything signed, we are in October and I’ve got to look at all the alternatives. That includes going back to the Mercedes family. That’s for sure one option and I would consider it, but there are other options as well’.
