Valtteri Bottas has revealed that a change to his race engineer at the Sauber Formula 1 team from this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix was not a decision that he made.
The Finn had worked with Alex Chan since arriving at the team when it was known as Alfa Romeo in 2022, but he has been allotted a new race engineer this weekend.
Asked prior to the weekend’s action commencing the reason behind the move, Bottas said: “I think that’s more a question for the team. It was quite a sudden change.
“It’s a Sprint weekend so working with a fresh guy will be not easy, but obviously trying to make the most out of it.
“But he’s getting lots of support but, yeah, it’s quite a sudden change.”
Bottas has hinted that the switch has been made with Sauber’s impending evolution into a works Audi entrant once revamped technical rules are introduced in 2026.
“I think it’s part of the reconstruction for the team,” he added. “There’s some people leaving, some joining, and obviously many of those decisions are not in my hands.”
Bottas would not be drawn on whether he was unsatisfied with Sauber’s choice when pressed on that topic, instead repeating his past stance on the team’s transition.
“I think it says that things are changing,” he added. “You know, there’s change happening. Obviously, some changes are for the long term.
“I don’t obviously know all the reasons behind every decision that, like I said, is being made.
“But it just tells that, yeah, change is happening. People are leaving. People are coming in. That’s about it.”
The ex-Mercedes driver is a free agent for next season as it stands, with a single seat available at Sauber in 2025 amid the news it has signed Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg.
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