Valtteri Bottas has made it clear that he doesn’t believe his career as a Formula 1 driver is over yet.
The Finnish driver enjoyed spells at Williams, Mercedes and Sauber (previously Alfa Romeo), before falling off the grid over the most recent winter break.
He endured his first pointless season in Formula 1 last year in an uncompetitive car but Mercedes have offered Valtteri Bottas a lifeline in the paddock by offering him the position of reserve driver for 2025.
The 10-time F1 race winner is 35 years old but feels he has plenty of time left at the pinnacle of motorsport if offered the right opportunity.
Bottas has said he’s ready to race for Aston Martin at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix if the team needs a stand-in for Lance Stroll.
The Canadian suffered a recurrence of the wrist injury he sustained in 2023 and had to withdraw from the race in Barcelona after qualifying.
However, Bottas is looking for a more permanent position on the grid in 2026.
Cadillac have been linked with Bottas but there’s an option that might make far more sense if the opportunity arises ahead of next season.
Red Bull are facing another driver conundrum right now with Yuki Tsunoda struggling to adapt, and the 35-year-old might have just explained why he would be the perfect candidate to replace the Japanese driver who has 96 Grand Prix starts to his name.
READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin
Valtteri Bottas explains what’s going wrong at Red Bull this season
Bottas was asked on the Beyond The Grid Podcast whether he had been in conversation with Red Bull over a potential race seat for next year and explained: “I don’t know if they look outside of their academy.
“They have so many drivers, they’ve got obviously kind of their junior team as well, the RB.
“It’s a tough one because it seems like it’s not an easy car to drive. Obviously, Max is doing the job.
“He’s really pushing almost beyond the limits of the car and whoever has been alongside him hasn’t looked great.
“But I don’t know. I just wonder if that car to be driven fast needs a driver with experience.
“That’s my speculation, but I think they know that I’m keen to race.
“They know that I would be available for next year, but I don’t know their mindset on that.”
Bottas was then asked if he talked to Red Bull about a 2025 seat and continued: “Not really.
“It was just put down quite quickly because I think there’s certain persons or a person within the Red Bull organisation that for some reason is not a big fan of mine, but that’s life.”
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Red Bull need an experienced driver alongside Max Verstappen to solve their driver market woes
Bottas suggesting Red Bull need a more experienced driver, like himself, alongside Verstappen makes a lot of sense.
Sergio Perez was Verstappen’s most successful teammate even if his final year as a Red Bull driver was a disaster.
But he brought years of experience to Red Bull and that meant he had driven many different Formula 1 cars building up to that move.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
362 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
165 |
| 3 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
159 |
| 4 |
Red Bull Racing |
144 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
54 |
| 6 |
Racing Bulls |
28 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
26 |
| 8 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
16 |
| 9 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
16 |
| 10 |
Alpine F1 Team |
11 |
Liam Lawson and now Tsunoda have both failed to reach the levels Christian Horner expects of a Red Bull number two driver, and he’ll already be thinking about what to do in 2026.
Isack Hadjar is the hottest candidate to replace Tsunoda next year, but the French rookie could easily fall into the same trap as his predecessors.
Bottas thinks someone at Red Bull has no interest in bringing him into the team, but they may need to change their minds in the short-term to provide some much needed stability alongside Verstappen.
