Valtteri Bottas: ‘It’s A Bit Of A Complicated Situation’

Valtteri Bottas has acknowledged that Mattia Binotto’s return to Formula 1 with Audi will reset discussions about his future with Kick Sauber.

The Finnish driver is facing uncertainty regarding his F1 career, as his contract with the team is due to expire at the end of the current season…

‘It is going to reset a bit the talks, because we have previously been in communication with Andreas [Seidl] and Oliver [Hoffmann], and now it’s Mattia [Binotto].’

‘For sure that will change some things, so we need to speak.’

‘It’s a bit of a complicated situation, but let’s see.’

‘Mattia [Binotto] needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths, what are the priorities for short and long-term improvements, and that’s going to take a bit of time.

‘Obviously, some things are internal, but we know that compared to, let’s say, to the big teams, we’re still lacking a bit of human power.’

‘There are certain areas that we definitely need to focus on, at the factory but also with the car performance. We’re at the moment not where we need to be and that’s, basically, we needed some new upgrades and [move] into the right direction.’

‘It’s been pretty clear that all the decisions in the last year or two has been made to be competitive from ‘26.’

‘I know it’s not ideal in some cases, and like for me, unfortunately, many times fighting towards the back end, but my job is still to do the very best I can and at the same time push the team and contribute the best I can. That’s all I can do at the moment.’

‘Hopefully from now on, things will be a bit more stable and there’s a clear direction,’ said Bottas.