Valtteri Bottas, working as a test driver for Mercedes next season, feels that he still has something to give to formulas.
STT Sports,
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Having worn the glorious Finnish colors of Formula 1 for a long time as the only blue-and-white driver Valtteri Bottas the rides on the gp racetracks are over, at least for the time being. Sauber did not get an extension contract, and Bottas thus returned to Mercedes, the team of his successful years, in the role of third or reserve driver.
Bottas drove for Mercedes with ten GP wins, 20 pole positions and 67 podium places. However, the move to Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season started a downhill run in results, a slide that culminated in a pointless finish for the team that changed to Sauber this season.
Bottas’ teammate Zhou Guanyu brought Sauber’s only World Cup points of the season from the Qatar race by finishing eighth.
In an interview with the Motorsport website Bottas began to reminisce about three years ago.
– When you think about the current situation, if I could go back three years, I would probably choose another team to go to, Bottas mentions.
– It’s tough when you want to show what you’re capable of, but it’s difficult at the back end (of the rider group). People just don’t see you and almost forget what you could achieve. So it’s a bit unfortunate that I’ve been thrust into this situation, which turned out to be the worst possible situation. And it meant that I was left without a driver’s seat for the next year.
The turnover was a problem
However, Bottas states that “the future cannot be predicted”. And when he signed a three-year contract with Alfa Romeo and its manager at the time by Fred Vasseur with, the team had “a clear plan and clear goals”.
But the turnover of team managers (after Vasseur Andreas Seidl and Mattia Binotto) and the fact that the team’s eyes were most obviously focused on the future instead of the present, took the hope of success away.
– The first year (2022) was great. But when Fred left the stable, things kind of fell apart. In terms of leadership, there hasn’t been enough continuity. We now have a third manager in three years, and every change in management has also meant that many of the (team’s) key personnel have changed roles, Bottas thinks to Motorsport.
Despite everything, Bottas assures that his time in F1 is not over.
– I feel like I could go on forever. I have everything in balance and I don’t feel tired because of F1. I feel like I still have something to give to the sport, whatever the role.