Valtteri Bottas’ career in Formula 1 is set to be over at a time when he is still operating at a top level in the sport. So what are the circumstances that have led a struggling Sauber team not to renew his contract and promote rookie Gabriel Bortoleto instead?
It has long been established that Sauber’s current driver line-up would not be preserved past a third consecutive season. The announcement back in April that Nico Hulkenberg will trade his drive at Haas to begin a multi-term deal with Sauber in 2025 ensured that either Bottas or team-mate Zhou Guanyu would be vacating their drive.
Zhou has insisted over recent months that he remained in the running, but it was clear cut that Bottas was the individual among the Sauber incumbents who was being assessed with a view to remaining onboard into 2025.
The Finn remained optimistic that he would preserve his place in the sport as late as last month when he revealed that terms over a potential extension had been agreed upon.
However, the green light he was awaiting never arrived. Instead, discussions ended with a mutual agreement to separate as Sauber has elected to go with a revised line-up in 2025 as Gabriel Bortoleto will partner Hulkenberg at the Audi-owned operation.
Bortoleto has long been regarded as an option that Sauber was considering.
Bottas loses Sauber 2025 F1 shootout
Despite Sauber boss Mattia Binotto admitting that Mick Schumacher was in the running, the last available seat outside the Red Bull stable soon became a straight shootout between Bottas and Bortoleto.
The choice would boil down between whether Sauber wanted to prioritise experience as it builds towards becoming the works Audi team in 2025 or go with a new name in the form of a rookie Bortoleto.
The decision rested on Binotto’s shoulders, the ex-Ferrari boss having been appointed to oversee proceedings during the summer.
Binotto’s hiring alone bolstered Bottas’ hopes tenfold as there were rumours before the current season that his predecessor, Andreas Seidl, wanted to make a change.
Bottas’ contract, signed prior to Seidl taking over at the helm in late 2022, meant that was not viable, but the German made clear with his actions that the Finn didn’t slot into the long-time vision that he envisaged for Audi.
Seidl was the individual who authorised the Hulkenberg signing in April and was then angling to acquire Carlos Sainz until the Spaniard decided upon a move to Williams.
Binotto overlooks Bottas’ F1 experience
Binotto, though, had seen what Bottas could do in competitive equipment when the two were rivals at Ferrari and Mercedes and that is something the latter admitted he was reliant on amid Sauber’s structural change.
However, Binotto has overlooked the perks that Bottas brings to the table and invested in Bortoleto to put his own stamp on proceedings at Sauber heading into 2025.
For the most part, Sauber has been a perennial underachiever across the past decade, but Audi’s arrival has signalled a tremendous chance to reverse that trend.
Audi has conceded it has an uphill task to hit the ground running, but the German marque’s prestigious record in motorsport is not to be ignored despite the obvious complexities involved in chasing success in the F1 sphere.
With a reset to the regulations on the horizon, Binotto opting to bring Bortoleto in to get up to speed in F1 in advance makes sense, as Max Verstappen alluded to when asked to comment on the matter last week.
“Yeah, I mean, if I was Sauber, I would have signed him already,” Verstappen expressed prior to Sauber’s reveal.
“I mean, especially if that’s anyway the future, you know, young drivers.
“And ‘26, big rule change. It’s always good to get used to a team already for a year, make your mistakes here and there, get integrated well, understand the car a bit.
“You always feel much more prepared and comfortable when you then start in ‘26.”
Bortoleto’s impressive rise to F1
Bortoleto took the Formula 3 championship in his maiden campaign last term and now heads the Formula 2 season in his debut season with two rounds to go. Providing he goes on to claim the second-tier crown, he will replicate what Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri achieved – three drivers recognised as among the best in F1.
Bottas’ experience could have served Sauber/Audi well, but, with 2025 poised to be another challenging season, the Swiss outfit has banked on developing a driver who has the qualities to be a future star in the sport.
Although it has been documented as Bortoleto replacing Bottas, the Hulkenberg deal was the one that edged the ex-Mercedes drivers towards the F1 exit door.
Without Hulkenberg being tied to a long-term deal, Bottas would have been a good bet to remain alongside Bortoleto and nurture him in the manner that he has done with Zhou.
Bottas provides an upside over Hulkenberg in that he has operated within a title-winning environment and knows what a team requires to reach the pinnacle in the series.
Meanwhile, the Finn has demonstrated this season that he hasn’t declined with age as he has held a vast measure over Zhou in a Sauber C44 that has languished at the rear.
READ MORE – Who is Sauber 2025 F1 rookie Gabriel Bortoleto?
Sauber wanted to avoid two elder statesmen
However, all that became redundant due to Hulkenberg’s looming arrival, and Binotto’s desire not to employ two elder statesmen who possess similar skill sets as drivers.
Sauber Chairman Gernot Dollner has supported Binotto’s verdict, revealing that Bortoleto’s reported multi-term deal aligns with the “generation shift” occurring in F1.
“We are currently witnessing a generational shift in Formula 1, with young drivers immediately making an impact,” Dollner said.
“By signing Gabriel Bortoleto, we have secured one of these top talents. His signing underscores Audi’s long-term strategy and commitment to Formula 1.”
Bortoleto at Sauber will make it three rookies on the 2025 grid along with Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes and Jack Doohan at Alpine, while Haas’ Oliver Bearman has deputised three times across this season.
Bearman’s exploits, plus Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson excelling having been harpooned into the deep end mid-season, has shown the next crop is more prepared than ever to hit the ground running in F1.
In Sauber’s current predicament, taking a punt on a newcomer – one with Bortoleto’s record – is worth the gamble next season.
For Bottas, though, three more race starts this season will take him to 246 and out – at least for the time being. Bottas being phased out shows that drivers without titles under their belt or age on their side are not exempt from being displaced in the modern age.
Bottas could still return as Hulkenberg did, and it is touted that a return to Mercedes in a reserve/test driver role is set to transpire. But a spell on the sidelines beckons, as Bortoleto will become the first Brazilian representative on the F1 grid since Felipe Massa in 2017.
READ MORE – Sauber explains choice to sign Gabriel Bortoleto over Valtteri Bottas for F1 2025
