Valtteri Bottas has expressed regret over his decision to move to Sauber. The Finnish driver spoke about his challenging time with the Swiss team on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his provisional last race in Formula 1. According to Bottas, the team’s decline was primarily due to Frédéric Vasseur’s departure to Ferrari.
Valtteri Bottas embarked on his journey with Sauber in 2022, which was then racing as Alfa Romeo in Formula 1. The first season went well for the Finn, but things took a downturn when team boss Frédéric Vasseur decided to move to Ferrari in 2023. Bottas has not been able to score a single point so far in 2024, his provisional last season in Formula 1.
The Sauber driver admits, in an interview with the Finnish Ilta Sanomat, that he regrets his choice for the Swiss team. “If I could go back three years, I would have gone somewhere else. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is,” Bottas honestly admits. “This was a big mistake, but it’s hard to predict these kinds of things in advance.”
Scrapheap
Bottas did not immediately regret his decision to move to Sauber, as the first season with Vasseur as team boss went well. The then Alfa Romeo finished that year in sixth place in the constructors’ championship. The driver reveals that the Frenchman’s plans have been ‘scrapped’ since his move to Ferrari, and it has since become more challenging to score points for Sauber.
“The last two seasons have been a bit of a downhill slide. Of course, this affects my image as a driver. If you can’t show results, people kind of forget your name,” says the Finn. Bottas is reportedly in talks with Mercedes to potentially return to his old team as a reserve driver.
