by VALERIO BARRETTA
Bottas’s future
Reading the F1 World Drivers’ standings during the summer break, you can see how the last position is sadly occupied by Valtteri Bottas. A career finale that neither the Finn nor Kick Sauber – who trusted him in the last three years – expected. And yet, with Carlos Sainz signing with Williams and Esteban Ocon moving to Haas, there are no big names left on the market. Someone like Bottas he could even stay in the Hinwil team after it was questioned by Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.
The colleague of The Race Scott Mitchell-Malm reported how the most likely scenario for Bottas now is that he stays: “It seems quite likely to me that Bottas, against all odds if we think about where he was a few weeks ago, will renew his contract.. I am still sincerely convinced that if there had not been the change of leadership, if Andreas Seidl was still there, if Binotto had not arrived, I would not be so sure in saying that Bottas will renew”.
Kick Sauber is by far the worst team in the first half of 2024: it seems like it needs experience to get back up, but that is already guaranteed by Nico Hülkenberg. However, it could need an element of continuity after the earthquake that saw the exit of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann and the entry of Mattia Binotto as head of the F1 project.
The alternatives
There are not many alternatives left for the teams to compose the lineup of 2025. Considering Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen (who are looking to the United States) out of the running and excluding Daniel Ricciardo (who agreed to race for RB only for the prospect of driving for Red Bull) Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are on the market. Alpine and Kick Sauber are looking for drivers (RB either renews Ricciardo or draws from the youngsters of the Academy; Mercedes will try all its cards for Max Verstappen or launch Andrea Kimi Antonelli). Both have youngsters they can debut (Jack Doohan and Theo Pourchaire). It will be with them that Zhou – also ex Alpine Academy – and Bottas will have to fight for the place for 2025.
#Market #SainzWilliams #Assist #Bottas