Formula 1 Italian GP

Bottas leading race for second Sauber F1 seat

The Finnish driver is now the favourite with the German car giant ahead of its entry into F1, although a McLaren junior could also be in the frame

Ben Hunt Roberto Chinchero

Edited: Sep 11, 2024, 10:40 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Valtteri Bottas is leading the race to partner Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber in Formula 1 next year.

The 35-year-old, who surprised many by shooting to the top five in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix, is understood to be the number one target for Sauber for the final year of the current rules cycle, before Audi takes over the team in 2026.

The news was first revealed by Motorsport.com's Italian edition, which reported that Bottas has been offered a one-year deal to stay at the team, although the Finnish driver is understood to be seeking a one-plus-one deal.

Audi had hoped to have persuaded Carlos Sainz to join the team, only for the Spanish driver to sign for Williams instead, and it is keen to only offer a one-year deal in order to pick its line-up for the following season when it enters F1.

Should it change its mind, then it is believed it could turn its attention to McLaren youngster Gabriel Bortoleto, who won the Formula 3 championship last year.

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Bottas explained ahead of the Italian GP how Sauber has been unable to find any form this season, but said he has full trust in the team's new chief operating officer and chief technical officer Mattia Binotto.

"We haven't found big enough steps, that obviously comes a lot from the development at the factory," said the Finn.

"Some other teams made bigger steps. I think Alpine was a good example. We were ahead of them in the beginning of the year, but now they are clearly ahead.

"We haven't found enough lap time. I think the base car that we started the season wasn't that far off. But from the beginning to now, we just haven't made big enough steps. I think that's the biggest issue.

"I don't want to really say anything bad about the previous leaders, but I feel like a bit of reshaping and a bit of change probably is good for the long term.

"I put full trust in Mattia. He knows how to lead a team and I think he's learned a lot in the last weeks what the team needs. Now it's actually the first time he'll be on track observing how we operate.

"So I'm sure he'll pick up even more. This season we're not expecting any miracles. I think what Mattia's presence can do is to help next year."

Adding he was in conversation with Binotto over extending his time with the team, Bottas explained: "We continued the discussions this week. I was at the factory on Tuesday and making progress.

"But we're not going to sign a contract here. We're here to race. And to focus on bouncing back after a difficult weekend. And then there's always next week.

"Options are limited for me. That's how it is...[Mattia] really understands what he can get out of me for the team. So that's a good thing for me, obviously. And if I can get involved into a project for the years ahead, which is an interesting project, a car manufacturer, then I'm interested as well.

"So I think there's interest on both ways. And, yeah, we've made some progress. But I don't want to give anything more than that."

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article The Monza upgrade Ferrari needs to escape the “trap” it fell into

Next article Renault engine employees push back in Monza: "Without F1, Viry has no purpose"

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 56 min

The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season

‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 1 h

‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes

BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

3 h

BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC

The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

4 h

The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down

Feature

Discover prime content

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

How seizing every chance – and making it happen – keeps Pierre Gasly’s fire burning

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Ronald Vording

Tough love and F1 titles – A key life lesson behind Wolff's Mercedes success

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Brazil showcased everything that's good about F1 - plus some that isn't

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts