Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas sat down during Imola Media Day to talk about his future in Formula 1 and his year so far.
This season, Sauber’s pit stops haven’t started off well at all. The team has experienced repeated 45-second pit stops due to wheel replacements where the wheel nuts became cross-threaded. Due to this, both Bottas and his teammate Zhou Guanyu have yet to score points this season.
Luckily in Miami, the team saw progress with their pit stops. They have a “final fix for the cross-threading.” The team is getting better with consistency in their stops as well. “It has been a priority for some time, and hopefully, that means we will have a bit more extra time now again to use the resources to make the car faster.”
Some upgrades have also been given to both cars for the upcoming weekend “Actually, we have a small step this weekend with a new floor, so that’s something we need to evaluate as well tomorrow.”
Bottas believes that, with the issued fix regarding pit stops, the team can finally be competitive.
“It’s been definitely not a great beginning of the year, and I think also mentally as a team, I think a good mindset could be to almost reset now and kind of start from here because we have no points yet, so now we need to start scoring.”
With 18 races still left in the season, Bottas is one of 11 drivers without a contract for the 2025 season.
On April 26, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg signed with Sauber for the 2025 season and beyond when they get completely taken over by Audi for 2026. This leaves only one seat free seat at the team for the 2025 season, to be battled out between Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas on paper, with both having contracts ending at the end of 2024. However, Carlos Sainz remains hot favourite to take that spot ahead of both.
The 10-time race winner has driven for a few teams in his 11-year career. He drove for Williams Racing from 2013-2016, Mercedes from 2017-2021, and Alfa Romeo, now Sauber from 2022-2024.
One seat that is open for the upcoming season is a Mercedes seat, and Bottas has driven for them before. When asked about any possibilities of returning to Mercedes, Bottas stated, “I think at the moment everything is an option. Still, preference is obviously long-term.”
While many seats still remain open for the upcoming season, Bottas is still “quite keen” to sign with a team before August break. He stated, “I think that would be too late for a season like this.
“No panic at the moment. Like I said, there’s discussions going on, and some progress being made.”
While Bottas may not have a contract yet, he is confident he will have a seat for 2025. When asked if he was worried about not having a spot next year, he replied, “No, not worried.”
