Valtteri Bottas doubts Mercedes would block him from pursuing a permanent comeback to Formula 1 should an opening arise during his second spell with the team.
Having missed out on retaining his previous drive with Sauber to reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, Bottas has been consigned to a period on the sidelines.
The Finn has since reunited with Mercedes, the team he won 10 races with between 2017 and 2021, in a reserve role amid his desire to make a return to the grid in 2026.
However, recent precedence has shown that there is a small chance a seat could open up even earlier than that, with two mid-season changes occurring last time around.
There were also incidences when race bans and illness ruled drivers out, with Bottas set to be an option that Mercedes customer teams McLaren and Williams can call upon.
Bottas believes there is a shared agreement with Mercedes that he will be allowed to court opportunities that could enhance his prospects of landing a race seat elsewhere.
“I think we both know, me and the team, that there needs to be some kind of… we [have] got to be dynamic,” Bottas told Sky Sports F1.
“Of course I’m fully committed to the year, giving everything I have for the team and trying to help the best I can.
“But if there is an opportunity to race, I doubt the team would stay in between that.
“Let’s see. Let’s take it first race-by-race, get the season started and then we’ll see what the year brings and what ‘26 brings.
Bottas on Cadillac talks
Bottas revealed late last year that he has held tentative talks with Cadillac, the General-Motors-owned team that has an agreement in principle to enter F1 in 2026.
However, the Finn disclosed there has been no progress on that front as the American marque’s attention has been on structuring the team ahead of its impending entrance.
“I think they’ve still been very busy on actually setting up the team, setting the board and all these kind of things,” Bottas addressed.
“So no, nothing yet, it’s a bit too early for that. But we’ll see.”
Bottas prepared to ‘mentor’ Antonelli
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted the team will be leaning on Bottas to help rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has succeeded Lewis Hamilton, navigate his debut season.
When asked whether he would be serving as a mentor to the Italian, Bottas, who has vast experience with 243 starts to his name, answered: “I think mentor is not too far off.
“When you’re a rookie, when you join the sport, there’s so many new things you got to learn. I can definitely help with that.
“And my job is to help the team the best I can. Of course Kimi is a rookie so he’ll probably have more questions than George [Russell].
However, Bottas has highlighted that his role will also entail helping to develop the German marque’s 2025 machine, the W16, as it strives to get back into title contention.
“The team will have an extra pair of eyes during the race weekend, looking at the data, looking at the driver line and stuff like that,” he added.
“I’ll be involved in all the meetings, technical stuff and can help a lot in the simulator so things like that. So it’s going to be a busy year, a different one for me, but yeah looking forward.”
READ MORE – Mercedes wants Valtteri Bottas to ‘coach’ Kimi Antonelli through debut F1 season
