Valtteri Bottas’ ‘race-by-race’ claim as Mercedes reserve targets F1 return

Forced to settle for a reserve driver role after losing his Sauber seat, Valtteri Bottas says he doubts Mercedes would stand in his way if he was offered a way back onto the grid.

Bottas was left without a Formula 1 drive for the F1 2025 season after Sauber announced in November that they had signed Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto in his stead.

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Having revealed to the media at the United States Grand Prix that he had agreed terms to continue with the soon-to-be-Audi team, and that he was “just basically waiting for the green light”, it has since emerged that Bottas was so confident in his chances that he physically signed his part of the contract.

Sauber, however, went on to agree terms with Bortoleto to become Nico Hulkenberg’s team-mate.

Bottas, a 10-time Grand Prix winner, subsequently signed with Mercedes to return to his former team as their official reserve driver.

However, he is confident that should he be offered a way back onto the grid, even this year, Mercedes won’t stand in his way.

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“I think we both know, me and the team, that there needs to be some kind of… we [have] got to be dynamic,” the 35-year-old told Sky 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.”

2026 of course brings a new team onto the Formula 1 grid with General Motors-owned Cadillac team set to become the sport’s 11th team.

Bottas has been linked to the Ferrari-powered team along with American driver Colton Herta and former Red Bull man Sergio Perez to name a few.

To date though, he’s yet to sit down with Cadillac team boss Graeme Lowdon or anyone else within the team’s hierarchy.

“I think they’ve still been very busy on actually setting up the team, setting the board and all these kind of things,” he said. “So no, nothing yet.

“It’s a bit too early for that but we’ll see.”

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Mercedes re-signed Bottas as a strong safety net should rookie driver Kimi Antonelli fail to adjust to life in Formula 1.

Although the 18-year-old arrives on the Formula 1 grid with over 9,000 kilometres of TPC running in preparation for his debut campaign, he’s been boosted into a team that is expected to fight for race wins and perhaps even the championship titles.

“Kimi Antonelli is in the spotlight in one of the best teams out there with a teammate who is doing a mega job,” Montoya told CasasDeApuestas.bet.

“And you’re being sold as the next Max Verstappen. If he doesn’t deliver, that’s tough.

“My reading is that with [Valtteri] Bottas, Mercedes would be covering their arse.

“He’s a safety net to have somebody in case it doesn’t work with Antonelli and he knows that.”

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