Ranked: Six IndyCar teams that could sign Valtteri Bottas for 2025 season

Valtteri Bottas is currently in the hunt for a Formula 1 seat, but the free slots are filling up fast — meaning Bottas might have to look elsewhere for a racing seat in 2025.

Recent reports suggest a few IndyCar teams actually have Valtteri Bottas on their radar, even as the American open-wheel series faces a glut of free agents looking for seat. Anything can — and often does — happen in IndyCar.

6. A. J. Foyt Racing

While the mullet-clad racer?could be a visually great fit at the all-American A. J. Foyt Racing team, it’s admittedly pretty tough to imagine the Finnish driver actually competing there.

As it currently stands, both Foyt drivers — Santino Ferrucci and Sting Ray Robb — are both in contract years, and neither have put in particularly inspired drives. However, the teammates are expected to perform well on the slew of upcoming oval tracks; their contract situation could easily change after that.

Plus, Foyt himself seems to prefer signing American racers if he can help it, and there are plenty talented Americans still looking for an IndyCar seat.

5. Ed Carpenter Racing

As with A. J. Foyt Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing is a fairly down-home American affair — and the team’s current dalliance with Dutch driver Rinus Veekay hasn’t paid off as well as expected. It’d be tough to see the Chevy team opting to sign Valtteri Bottas.

Plus, team owner Ed Carpenter has said he’s happy enough with both Veekay and Christian Rasmussen; it’s far easier to see the two racers sign on for another go.

4. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

With the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan machine vacated by McLaren-bound Christian Lundgaard and the No. 30 held by low-scoring Pietro Fittipaldi, the RLL outfit has one — but potentially two — seats open for 2025.

In a June interview with RACER, Rahal admitted that he’s hoping to elevate Juri Vips, the team’s reserve driver, to full-time status in the No. 45 in 2025, but that nothing had been signed yet.

Fittipaldi’s seat, though, is more tenuous. The Brazilian racer brought plenty of high hopes to the team but hasn’t delivered on them. Bottas could make a competent replacement, and one that would bring a lot of eyes to the team.

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3. Meyer Shank Racing

Meyer Shank Racing already has a surprising tie to Formula 1: Liberty Media. That means it’s totally possible that Valtteri Bottas has already been in talks with the team’s representatives — and MSR has a seat open for 2025.

But back to Liberty Media and MSR. Liberty Media owns a 30% stake in the team, which means it has a fairly decent influence in any potential driver signings. If Bottas knows the right people at Liberty, it would be a no-brainer for him to end up at MSR.

MSR has committed to Felix Rosenqvist for several years, and it has signed David Malukas on a temporary basis for 2024. That being said, Malukas’ performance with the team has already been impressive, so unless the young American gets a better offer somewhere else, it’s tough to see him leaving the team behind.

2. Dale Coyne Racing

If there’s anyone willing to take a risk on an unknown entity, it’s Dale Coyne Racing. The eponymous team owner has never shied away from sticking anyone behind the wheel, just to see what happens.

Plus, Coyne already has experience with former F1 drivers, having fielded Romain Grosjean in his rookie IndyCar season, as well as Esteban Gutiérrez, Sébastien Bourdais, and Takuma Sato. It’s a team in which Valtteri Bottas would fit right in.

Coyne is currently looking at two empty seats for the 2025 IndyCar season, and it seems like it’d be a great landing place for a driver like Bottas; DCR just doesn’t get the No. 1 spot on this list, though, because there is both a better option, and because DCR often likes its drivers to pay to play.

1. Prema

Of all the possible team contenders on this list, we know the least about Prema, which intends to make its IndyCar debut in 2025 with two drivers — but it makes the most sense for Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas does have ties to Prema in his junior formula days, but only very minor ones; in 2010, he joined Prema for the Macau Grand Prix, where he finished third. However, having grown up in the European ladder program, there’s a great chance that Bottas would know the right folks to make a Prema deal happen.

Further, rumors have already linked Prema to Williams’ Logan Sargeant; the team would do well to sign an experienced racer alongside the young American driver, and Bottas could make a great fit.

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