The future of Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate at Mercedes, is uncertain as there are limited options for him to secure a seat for the 2025 season. After Hamilton’s surprising retirement in 2016, Mercedes was in search of a driver to partner with. Eventually, they signed Bottas, who was previously driving for Williams. Although he initially met expectations, he was eventually replaced by someone else for the 2022 season. Now, it appears that Bottas may struggle to find a competitive seat for the upcoming 2025 season.
In 2022, Bottas joined Alfa Romeo, which is run by Sauber. He saw this as a fresh start without any ties to Mercedes. With the introduction of the ground-effect era, things seemed promising for him. However, his on-track performances took a backseat to his mullet, which became a bigger talking point. Last season, Bottas outperformed his teammate by 4 points, but both drivers have failed to score any points so far in 2024. Bottas has struggled to stand out in the fierce competition in the lower half of the grid against drivers like X and X. It seems that his options for next year are running out.
The driver market for the 2025 season is wide open. More than half of the grid does not have a contract for the next season, including top teams like Red Bull and Mercedes. However, Bottas has not made a convincing case for himself to secure a seat with either of these teams, despite winning several races for Mercedes in the past.
Bottas’ current team will be taken over by Audi in 2026, and the German carmaker wants to choose its own drivers from next season onwards. Nico Hulkenberg has already signed a deal with Audi, and Carlos Sainz is reportedly their priority target for the second seat. It seems that Bottas’ current employer is not interested in keeping him as a backup option, as reports of a backup list of four drivers do not include his name.
Bottas seems to have limited options in the lower half of the grid for next season. Williams is considered a potential candidate for him, but there are reports suggesting that Carlos Sainz may take that seat instead. As a result, Bottas may be forced to join Haas, the only team that has not dismissed his chances.
It is unfortunate to see a driver who has won 10 races struggle to find a competitive seat. However, Bottas’ recent results do not make a strong case for him. He has failed to replicate the level of performance he showed when competing against Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Fans are hoping that Bottas will secure a good contract for the 2025 season and continue to race in the coming years.