It’s official: Valtteri Bottas is returning to Mercedes. The Finnish driver will take on the role of reserve driver, after losing his seat at Sauber. Bottas had to make way at the Swiss team for newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg.
Bottas drove for the German team from 2017 to 2021, but had to make way for George Russell in 2022. The Finnish driver then moved to the Sauber team, which was previously known as Alfa Romeo. Bottas and teammate Zhou Guanyu were informed by Sauber in early November that they would be replaced by Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto in 2025.
The Finn then started a series of videos on his social media channels, in which he wondered what the next step would be, ‘What’s next?’, after his departure from Sauber. With the announcement from Mercedes, that question has now been answered.
Mercedes announced Bottas’ return on Thursday.
Return to Mercedes
The Finn is also immediately reunited with his old team boss Toto Wolff upon his return to Mercedes. The two have worked together for a long time, as the Austrian was even Bottas’ manager before the driver joined the German team. As Lewis Hamilton’s teammate, Bottas achieved victory ten times. The Finnish driver’s last victory was during the Grand Prix of Turkey in 2021.
