Ahead of his final Grand Prix with Sauber, Valtteri Bottas admits joining the team was a “big mistake” as they’ve been on a “downhill slide” since Fred Vasseur left after 2022.

Leaving Mercedes at the end of 2021 having helped the team to five successive Constructors’ Championship titles, Bottas acknowledged life with Alfa Romeo, as Sauber was known back then, would be very different but he was up for the challenge.

Valtteri Bottas: If I could go back three years…

Reunited with Vasseur, with whom he won the 2011 GP3 title, Bottas said: “The potential of the setup in Hinwil is clear and I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance.”

Finishing sixth in the Constructors’ Championship in their first season together, Alfa Romeo looked to be on the up but when Vasseur left to take up the role of Ferrari team principal, the upheaval at the team began.

Sauber announced the team would be sold to Audi, who would rebrand it in F1 2026, Andreas Seidl took over as team boss, then Seidl lost his job a year later and Mattia Binotto stepped in.

All the while, the team’s results plummeted, 16 points in 2023 and four this season. Bottas hasn’t scored even one, the Finn is P22 in the World Championship.

He says joining Sauber was a “big mistake”.

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Speaking with Finnish publication Ilta Sanomat newspaper, it was put to the Finn on the eve of his final Grand Prix with Sauber that his contract with the Hinwil team ‘didn’t turn out to the best’ of his career.

He replied: “Absolutely not. If I could go back three years, I would have gone somewhere else. Unfortunately, that’s how it is.

“This was a big mistake, but it’s hard to predict these things in advance.

“That first year with Vasseur was a good thing. The team spirit was good and the results were quite good.

“The last two seasons have been a bit of a downhill slide all the time. Of course, that affects my image as a driver. If you can’t show results, people kind of forget your name.

“This season has undoubtedly been quite scary. When we set goals with Vasseur in 2022 and how to achieve them, we had a clear plan.

“But after he left, all the goals and plans went to the scrap heap. Since then, it has been significantly more challenging.”

But while Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the 10-time Grand Prix winner’s final race with Sauber, and at least as things stand today, in Formula 1 too, he says it may not be his retirement party.

“I have a feeling that I’m not done with this sport,” he said. “I still have more to give, so I’m going to watch this card until the end.”

Bottas is in talks with Mercedes about a reserve driver role.

“Next week we plan to finalise next year’s plans,” he said. “Let’s finish this race with honour, and then focus on what’s coming next week.”

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