The likely end of Valtteri Bottas’ F1 career is disappointing for Finns. However, the sport won, writes Urheilu’s journalist Joel Sippola.
Joel Sippola sports reporter
Valtteri Bottas The F1 career as a racing driver ends – at least for now.
Sauber announced on Wednesday that Bottas will no longer continue as a team driver after this season. You can’t be surprised about that.
The Finn’s F1 career has been more or less interrupted in the last couple of years. Just a year ago, he got a one-year option for this season filled out of his old contract.
Bottas has clearly been his teammate this year Guanyu Zhouta better. However, in a small team like Sauber, good performances are wasted. When it comes to a 35-year-old driver who does not have champion status, Bottas is not an attractive option for other teams.
Bottas himself played a risky game at the negotiation table. Sauber reportedly offered the experienced Finn a one-year contract, but the ten-time race winner wanted a multi-year contract.
Bottas will be replaced by a 20-year-old Gabriel Bortoleto. For Finns, the absence of Bottas from the starting grid of the Formula Ones next season is of course a shame. The streak of Finnish drivers that lasted more than 35 years is coming to an end.
From the point of view of the Formula Ones, however, the change can be seen as a victory. Bortoleto is one of the hottest prospects in the sport.
In recent years, the sport’s clear problem has been that it has been difficult for the most talented young drivers to enter the series. Many young drivers are connected to the academy of an F1 team, which limits the possibilities of jumping into the series. In addition, many experienced drivers have been an obstacle to the place.
Bortoleto is Brazil’s most talented F1 driver since he retired in 2017 Felipe Massa. He has made solid demonstrations of his skills in the junior classes.
F1 needs Brazil, which is a significant part of the sport’s history, among other things Ayrton Senna in terms of.
This year, Bortoleto is close to the F2 series championship, even in his rookie season. Still, for a long time it seemed that Bortoleto would have had to wait another year for the F1 driving seat.
Ollie Bearman, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto have shown this season that teams should boldly rely on young talent. The whole trio has jumped into the F1 racing driver’s shoes in the middle of the season.
The 19-year-old Bearman has proven with Ferrari and Haas. Lawson is talked about as Red Bull by Sergio Perez as a substitute. Colapinto, on the other hand, has surprised everyone with his readiness.
Bearman and Colapinto have been widely praised. However, Bortoleto has been clearly more convincing than them in the corresponding formula classes. It would have been contradictory if he had been left without the F1 racing driver’s place.
Fortunately, this did not happen.