Qualifying P9 but not finishing the race, this year’s finale at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP was a write-off for Valtteri Bottas in a season of woe as he scored no points. Sauber’s car was off the pace, although they made clear gains at the last three rounds. By then, it was too late for Bottas or Zhou to prove themselves for 2025.
A lock-up led to an incident with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen which ended his race early, breaking his front suspension.
F1 Ending
Bottas does not have a seat for the 2025 season, so it was likely this was going to be the last time we see the Finn in an F1 car for the time being.
It was confirmed on the 19th December that the man from Nastola will be Mercedes’ reserve/third driver for 2025.
“Yeah, I think this week I’ve started to realise, ‘okay, now it’s getting towards the end for now’. I still don’t think it’s guaranteed that it’s my last race, that’s my feeling.”
Finland and F1
There have been many notable Finnish Formula 1 drivers over the years, with Keke Rosberg, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen all winning Drivers’ Championships. Häkkinen is the most successful with two titles to his name.
As for Valtteri Bottas, 10 wins is a significant number. Unfortunately for him, he went up against prime Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes and never stood a chance of winning a title.
Tuukka Taponen is set to race with ART Grand Prix in Formula 3 next year, and has won the CIK Karting World Championship and Formula Regional Middle East championship. He is the next hope for the Finns.
There has been Finnish drivers on the grid consistently since 1991 when Mika Häkkinen made his debut.
“Yeah, it’s been a good run for Finns.Yeah, I hope there’s somebody joining soon.
“I think the guy at the moment who’s the closest is Tuukka Taponen in F4. He’s going to be in F3 next year and that’s going to be a really key season for him to prove what he can do.”
Tough final season at Sauber
Sauber’s 2024 car was the slowest car this season, as the team finished last in the Constructors’ Championship, scoring only four points.
The team’s only points were scored by teammate Zhou Guanyu at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Finn picked up damage after contact with Liam Lawson following the first Safety Car restart.
Looking back, Bottas did not have many highlights to choose from in the 2024 F1 season. He feels China was the best opportunity aside from Qatar.
The 35-year-old had been running in P11, just over a second behind Hülkenberg before his engine gave up the ghost on lap 21.
“It’s been tough. If I have to think of one probably where I should have scored and everything was looking like I should have been in a decent position, it was China, before I got the PU failure in the race.
“And yeah, last race [Qatar] was just a bit of a joke. Everything went against and at that race we had the opportunity. So yeah, it’s been not many highlights this year, but I’ve tried.”
F1 Journey over the last 11 years
Bottas has had a successful career at the pinnacle of motorsport, and has had many highlights over his career. The most notable was him helping securing five straight Constructors’ Championships for Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton.
Bahrain 2017 was his first pole position, as he took his first win at Sochi a couple of rounds later.
He also had success at Williams before that, as he secured nine podiums with the Grove-based outfit following his debut with the team at Melbourne in 2013.
“If I look at it as a whole, I’ve had a good run. 12 seasons in Formula 1, lots of points, 5 Constructors’ [titles], wins, podiums. So yeah, it’s been a good career.
“But like I said, I don’t feel like I’m done yet. I still feel like I’ve got things to give for this sport.
“Favourite moment of my career is really my first win, because that’s still the highlight.”
Potential return in 2026?
Bottas’s Mercedes reserve/third driver role is only confirmed for 2025.
He is clearly determined to secure a 2026 seat, potentially gunning for a seat with the new Cadillac team joining the grid that year, as well as other potential opportunities.
“So obviously for next year it’s definitely more challenging, but ’26 there can be opportunities.
“Obviously now, like I said, next year is going to be tricky, but in 2026 there could be an opportunity. But if not in 2026, then I know that, yeah, that’s it.
“So then in that case, I would need to look for something for 2026 and beyond in a competitive race category.”
If he is unable to secure an F1 pathway for 2026, Bottas implies he intends to continue racing in the future, with IndyCar looking like a solid possiblity.
