Who Will This 10-Time Grand Prix Winner Drive for Next?
Valtteri Bottas is a driver, a legend, and an icon. He made his debut with Williams in 2013, yet has driven with Mercedes and Alfa Romeo. When Bottas drove for Williams all those years ago, he constantly outperformed his teammates and scored many points in several races. In 2016, he joined Mercedes, replacing Nico Rosberg, and spent five seasons with them, winning 10 races. He had his first win in the Russian Grand Prix in 2017 and was the runner-up for the World Drivers' Championship in 2019 and 2020. He moved to Alfa Romeo, which is now known as the Stake F1 Team, and drove for his final season in 2023; however, the tides seem to be changing yet again for the driver.
As we know, Cadillac has made its official announcement that it will be joining the Formula 1 grid for the 2026 season, yet for some reason, this isn’t in the driver's sights. Bottas has looked into whether Red Bull or Alpine could be the team to drive for in his return to the grid. As of now, he is the Mercedes reserve driver, but he spent the last three seasons racing with Kick Sauber. When he went on to return to Mercedes, he was not quiet about his desire to return to the racing grid, and with Red Bull not yet deciding on the future of Yuki Tsunoda’s seat, could this be his chance?
On the other hand, Alpine has its two rookie drivers, Jack Doohan, and Franco Colapinto, who have already filled the seat with Pierre Gasly, yet the team is open to new options for drivers. Alpine and Bottas spoke about the change for him to drive for the 2025 season, but the conversation ended as talks did not progress in the way they so desired. At that time, he was expecting to stay with Kick Sauber in their transition to Audi for the 2026 season. With such a change happening for the Formula 1 team, there is much to unpack for the driver selection. Will Bottas get the seat he wants, or will he remain the reserve driver yet again? In a perfect world, he will speak with the right team and get the seat he so desires.
