Bottas ‘really confident’ he could thrive in Red Bull role

Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he would relish an opportunity to return to a top team in a second driver role, saying that he “could see” himself driving alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

The Finn is currently without a contract for 2025 and beyond after Sauber announced that Formula 2 leader Gabriel Bortoleto will join forces with Nico Hulkenberg for next season, leaving both Bottas and Zhou Guanyu without a seat.

While the only officially unconfirmed seat for next season is at RB, Bottas is still exploring all available options before making a decision, but explained that he is keen to remain within Formula 1 rather than switch to another championship.

Towards the top end of the grid, concerns around Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull have permeated much of the season as he has struggled to adapt to changes with the car whilst his team mate Max Verstappen secured his fourth world title.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 23: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the Kick Sauber C44 Ferrari on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 23, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) — With two races remaining, Sauber sit at the bottom of the constructors' standings with zero points

Asked whether a move to the Milton Keynes outfit would be an unrealistic prospect, Bottas said: “You know, I could see myself filling that role. I’m really confident I would do a good job but for now the answer has been no.

“I think there’s certain people or a certain person within the organisation that is against me for some reason, but that’s their loss.”

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After their dominance in the opening races of the season, Red Bull appeared to be on track to win their third constructors' title in a row, but McLaren and Ferrari's continuous development paired with consistent results has seen the team drop to P3 in the standings.

Bottas himself has a wealth of experience operating at a top team, previously having an immensely successful stint at Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, where he won 10 races and helped the team to secure five consecutive constructors’ championships.

bottas hamilton.jpg — Bottas and Lewis Hamilton made Mercedes extremely successful between 2017 and 2021

Additionally, with the recent announcement that Mick Schumacher is set to leave his position as Mercedes’ reserve driver at the end of the season, another door has opened for Bottas to potentially return to the team, albeit not in a full-time racing role.

“Obviously really honoured that [Toto Wolff] would be willing to take me back to the Mercedes family which is great,” Bottas said ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. “It’s a really solid option for me for the future.

“Of course, there’s still many details we’ve got to discuss, like how much I would actually get to drive because I want to drive, whether it’s about testing and stuff like that. We’re discussing but there’s no need to rush.”