Valtteri Bottas has sent ‘clearest signal possible’ about where he’ll be racing in 2025

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Valtteri Bottas is one of the drivers on the Formula 1 grid still facing an uncertain future ahead of the final 10 races. Bottas’ last realistic option, if he wants to continue in the sport, is staying at Audi.

Fellow midfield teams like Aston Martin, Haas and Williams have already finalised their line-ups. Alpine are set to sign Jack Doohan as Pierre Gasly’s teammate, and Red Bull junior team RB will be reserved for drivers already on their books.

A return to Mercedes as a stop-gap replacement for Lewis Hamilton never looked likely. And Toto Wolff has now signed Kimi Antonelli, with an announcement expected soon.

Bottas was James Vowles’ plan-b if he didn’t manage to land Carlos Sainz. But when the Grove outfit won that market-defining race, it weakened the Finn’s position.

The 34-year-old has outperformed Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu this season, even if he sits bottom of the championship as one of three scoreless drivers. Bottas leads the qualifying head-to-head 10-4 and is also 8-5 up in the races both have finished.

However, Audi are known to have explored other options. Mattia Binotto likes Gabriel Bortoleto, the McLaren junior who’s flying in F2, and Red Bull talent Liam Lawson has also held talks.

Valtteri Bottas dropped big hint about staying at Audi in 2025

Speaking on his YouTube channel, former McLaren mechanic and BBC F1 pundit Marc Priestley suggested Bottas had all but confirmed an extension at Sauber/Audi. Earlier this month, he posted a photo on social media posing next to an Audi R8 with his number ’77’ on the back.

In Priestley’s eyes, this was the closest he could possibly come to revealing his plans without explicitly doing so. He doesn’t see any other explanation for the post.

However, he can’t understand why Audi didn’t take the opportunity to announce their supposed decision. They may be enjoying the spotlight as one of the few remaining players in the driver market.

“That is the clearest signal possible, without actually getting a statement from the team, that Valtteri is going to be staying at Sauber, transitioning into Audi, throughout 2025 and into 2026,” Priestley said of the photo. “Why on Earth would you post such a thing if that wasn’t the case?

“Why haven’t the team followed up with the statement? Why haven’t they clarified this? Maybe they like the speculation around it. Maybe they like the story building before they finally deliver the news and confirm what we think we all know.”

The moment that almost made Valtteri Bottas quit F1

This tallies with a recent claim that Bottas is in ‘pole position’ to land the seat next to Nico Hulkenberg. That was dubbed ‘incomprehensible’ given his anonymous displays this season.

Indeed, it’s been suggested that Bottas may not fit the image Audi wish to cultivate. With the experienced Hulkenberg already signed, some expected them to put an exciting young driver for the other car.

That still can’t be ruled out, of course, but it looks more and more likely that Bottas will stay. Lawson will be focused on earning a seat within Red Bull, while Bortoleto is contracted to McLaren.

Though he may not be the most inspiring choice, Bottas boasts a compelling track record. He’s won 10 of his 236 races, bagging 20 poles and 67 podiums in that time.

Bottas nearly quit F1 in 2018 at a moment when he couldn’t compete with Hamilton at Mercedes. But six years on, there’s little indication that he’s considering retirement.