'It’s a bit of a complicated situation' – Bottas says talks on future will 'reset' after Binotto arrival

Valtteri Bottas has conceded that Mattia Binotto's return to Formula 1 with Audi will "reset" talks on his future at Kick Sauber.

The Finn faces an uncertain F1 future with his contract at the team set to expire at the end of the current campaign, while Nico Hulkenberg is making the move from Haas to Sauber for next year.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Why Audi have turned to former Ferrari man Binotto to lead their F1 charge

This also comes amid change at the top within the Sauber/Audi project, as it was confirmed ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix that former Ferrari Team Principal Binotto would be joining as Audi's new F1 boss in the position of Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer based at the Sauber factory in Hinwil, Switzerland.

Binotto's arrival also meant that Andreas Seidl – who joined Sauber in January 2023 and was CEO of the Audi team – would leave the company, along with Audi executive Oliver Hoffmann.

With only four free seats remaining on next season’s F1 grid – at Mercedes, Alpine, RB and Sauber – the pressure is on Bottas to secure his future but he admitted the change in leadership would have an impact on his own talks to stay with the team.

“It is going to reset a bit the talks, because we have previously been in communication with Andreas [Seidl] and Oliver [Hoffmann], and now it’s Mattia [Binotto],” Bottas said during the press conference ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. “For sure that will change some things, so we need to speak.

“It’s a bit of a complicated situation, but let’s see.”

READ MORE: Jonathan Wheatley to leave Red Bull and become Audi’s new F1 Team Principal

Binotto, 54, will be joined by Jonathan Wheatley, who is departing his role as Red Bull’s Sporting Director to become Team Principal at Audi, and with three major leadership changes in the last three years, Bottas believes the team has a lot of work still to do ahead of Audi’s formal entry.

“Mattia [Binotto] needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths, what are the priorities for short and long-term improvements, and that’s going to take a bit of time,” the Finnish driver explained. “Obviously, some things are internal, but we know that compared to, let’s say, to the big teams, we’re still lacking a bit of human power.

“There are certain areas that we definitely need to focus on, at the factory but also with the car performance. We're at the moment not where we need to be and that's, basically, we needed some new upgrades and [we need to head] into the right direction.”

With the sport now in the summer break, Kick Sauber sit at the bottom of the standings having failed to score a point, with their best finish coming at the opening race of the season in Bahrain where Zhou Guanyu finished just outside the points in 11th position.

Neither driver has signed a contract to continue with the team in 2025, although at least one will have to make way for the incoming Hulkenberg, who has committed to a multi-year deal.

READ MORE: Kick Sauber offer update on who could partner new signing Hulkenberg for 2025

“It’s been pretty clear that all the decisions in the last year or two has been made to be competitive from ‘26,” Bottas explained. “I know it’s not ideal in some cases, and like for me, unfortunately, many times fighting towards the back end, but my job is still to do the very best I can and at the same time push the team and contribute the best I can. That’s all I can do at the moment.

“Hopefully from now on, things will be a bit more stable and there’s a clear direction.”