“I haven’t finished yet”: Valtteri Bottas promises to come back to Formula 1
Valtteri Bottas asserts that he is not done with F1 after a disappointing exit from Sauber at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Finn was forced to retire during the race at the Yas Marina Circuit, after a contact with Kevin Magnussen. Valtteri Bottas had qualified in the top 10, but his race collapsed already in the first lap.
He received a 10-second penalty for a collision with Sergio Perez at turn 6, before hitting Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
Abu Dhabi marks the end of a last difficult season for Bottas, who scored no points in the 24 races held in 2024.
Next year, Valtteri Bottas will be without a seat, as Sauber has chosen to replace him with F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. “It’s definitely not the ideal ending, but these things happen, it’s racing,” he said.
« This is not the first time, everything went wrong from the first lap. The incident, then the penalty, then I was at the back out of position, and later, I collided with Kevin [Magnussen]. It was my fault, I was defending with worn tires and I tried to brake as late as possible, but I simply couldn’t stop the car.
He added: “This is not how I want to end, that’s why I haven’t finished yet.”
What is the next step?
According to rumors, Valtteri Bottas could come back at Mercedes as a third driver next year.
He would support George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and could replace one of them as a full-time driver, if necessary.
This season, he dominated Zhou Guanyu in qualifying, 21-3, throughout the 2024 season.
The bad news for him is that, if he returns to Formula 1, he will have to serve a five-place grid penalty, after being sanctioned by the stewards for his collision with Kevin Magnussen.
But if this race were his last, Bottas can be proud of a great career, with 10 wins and more than 60 podiums.
