Valtteri Bottas targets 2026 F1 comeback as he outlines Mercedes role

Valtteri Bottas has opened up on his Formula 1 future ahead of his first race weekend as a Mercedes reserve driver. 

After missing out on a contract extension with Sauber at the end of 2024, Bottas is keen to return to a full-time seat in the sport and is hopeful that this will happen in 2026. 

The Finnish driver has returned to Mercedes, the team he drove for between 2017 and 2021 alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, as a reserve driver in 2025. As part of this role, the 35-year-old will assist rookie driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli as he steps into his first F1 seat with the Brackley outfit.

While speaking to the media, including Motorsport.com, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, the former Sauber driver confirmed his eagerness to return to the grid in 2026, but for now is focused on his current supporting role.

“Definitely felt like coming back home,” he admitted. “That’s how it is, you know. We did spend five years together and I’ve been in a long relationship with Toto [Wolff] as well, even before those times.

“It’s been really straightforward in terms of starting to work with the team again. So, no surprises there. It may be a bit of a weird moment watching the race starts, the lights go off in the garage, but that’s where we are now.

“I think I said it before. Ideally, I would be up on the grid racing, I hope that could be possible for next season. But for now, obviously here to work with the team and trying to be as useful as I can. And then we take it kind of month by month, and we see what happens.

“But ultimately, my goal is to be back on the grid in ’26 one way or the other. But if not, then we need to look at other alternatives.”

Commenting on his new role within the team, the 10-time Grand Prix winner explained:

“My job is to be a reserve for every Grand Prix, but also I want to be useful. It would be a shame not to share the experience that I’ve gathered and I’ve been in his [Antonelli’s] shoes here in 2013.

“I’ll be mostly around and he can ask me anything, you know, whether it’s about racing, whether it’s about fine details, or whether it’s about life. I’ve been through some ups and downs, so happy to help. If you want kind of mentoring, I can do that, but I just want to be as useful as I can be for the whole team.”