F1 | A turnaround in Valtteri Bottas’ situation – a surprising advantage for the Finn in the driver market

Finnish hope For Valtteri Bottas34, is about to become a real trump card in the hot driver market of the F1 series, estimates the respected Autosport magazine.

The rules for cars in the F1 series will change for the 2026 season, which, according to Autosport, will greatly affect the drivers’ strategy in negotiations with the teams.

Autosport says that the vast majority of drivers on the market only want a short contract, because they want to see which of the teams would be strong and competitive when moving to new cars.

Autosport instead, the teams require a longer commitment from the drivers – the teams want the driver to commit to the car’s development work for several years, when the rules change as well.

From Ferrari Lewis Hamilton39, moving out of the way next year Carlos Sainz Jr29, is widely considered the most desirable driver on the market.

However, according to Autosport, Sainz Jr. – and not many other drivers – is willing to commit to his employers for a long time due to the reasons mentioned above.

According to Autosport, this opens up a great opportunity for Bottas, who has said that he is ready for a longer-term commitment.

“I hope that. I have made it clear in the discussions that I want clear goals for the coming years – a project that I can work on together with the team. I’m ready to commit and my priorities are in order. I hope it puts me in a strong position,” Bottas said according to Autosport.

Autosport estimates that in the current situation, Bottas would have the opportunity to sign an extension even with his current team, i.e. Sauber.

From Sauber is scheduled to become Audi’s factory team in 2026, and Bottas’ chances of continuing with Sauber were considered very slim until some time ago.

It is believed that Bottas is also negotiating a return to the Williams team. Autosport says that Williams is one of the teams that wants a multi-year commitment from its drivers.