Why Sauber haven’t already offered Valtteri Bottas a 2025 F1 race seat

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Valtteri Bottas is the most decorated driver on the Formula 1 grid who hasn’t secured a contract for the 2025 season.

Going into the summer break, it’s hard to imagine things going any worse for Sauber as they sit rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.

Pit stop issues plagued Sauber’s early races and potentially cost them their only chance of securing a top-ten finish before the teams around them delivered updates that opened the gap between the Swiss team and the rest of the field.

Since then, Zhou Guanyu has been tasked with testing set-ups and new parts during race weekends to try and find a breakthrough while Valtteri Bottas concentrates on trying to extract the maximum out of the C44.

Unfortunately, neither driver’s performance has convinced Sauber to offer them a new deal for next season.

Audi will take Sauber’s place on the grid in 2026 and they’re already having a significant input in the key decisions the team are making.

The German manufacturers moved quickly to bring in one of their countrymen by signing Nico Hulkenberg from Haas.

The 36-year-old is still chasing his first podium finish and moving to a works team could offer him that precious opportunity.

From the options available to Sauber, Bottas looks like the most obvious candidate, but a report from The Race has shared why he hasn’t been offered a new deal.

That’s not to say he won’t be, as Bottas seems like the obvious candidate to stay at Sauber for 2025 and beyond.

However, there are two new leaders at the top of the Audi set-up and that might have an impact on which driver they go for next year.

READ MORE: Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin

Why Sauber haven’t offered Valtteri Bottas an F1 race seat for 2025 yet?

Instability at the top of the Audi set-up have delayed making a final decision on a second driver for next year, but it’s not the only reason why Bottas hasn’t put pen to paper on a new deal.

Audi were desperate to sign Carlos Sainz when it was discovered that he was being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

The Spaniard spent months pondering his future but eventually decided to join Williams, no doubt influenced by Sauber’s terrible current form.

Another reason revolves around his previous team boss Andreas Seidl.

Seidl wanted to get rid of Bottas at the end of last year and The Race report that Bottas felt he was being ‘frozen out’ by the German.

However, Seidl has now been let go by Audi and – alongside Esteban Ocon committing to Haas – Mattia Binotto has arrived at the team to run their Formula 1 operations.

Although his feelings towards Bottas aren’t known yet, the Finn is interested in staying and Sauber would be taking a risk bringing in someone else.

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Valtteri Bottas is no stranger to uncertainty surrounding his Formula 1 future

Before signing for Sauber – previously Alfa Romeo – on a multi-year contract, Bottas enjoyed a very successful spell alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

He was plucked from Williams at the end of the 2016 season when Nico Rosberg surprised the world by retiring after winning the world championship in Abu Dhabi.

Bottas was racing from season to season on one-year deals and was constantly under pressure to perform.

The Finn was keeping the race seat warm for when George Russell was ready to step up and Bottas was fortunate the Brit was ready after his most difficult season in 2018.

Now, Bottas potentially has just 10 race weekends left to prove to his new bosses at Audi that he’s the right man for the job next year, although it won’t be a straightforward decision for Binotto ahead of Jonathan Wheatley joining as team principal next year.