Valtteri Bottas has revealed how learning more about Audi’s plans has enhanced his belief that it will be “a matter of time” until the brand tastes success in Formula 1.
Audi will embark upon its debut venture in the sport when the current Sauber-branded team morphs into a works operation once brand-new regulations arrive in 2026.
The German outfit has acquired Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg on a long-term deal, meaning that either Bottas or team-mate Guanyu Zhou are guaranteed to lose their spots.
Bottas was linked with a potential return to Williams and also the vacant drive at Alpine, but Carlos Sainz and Jack Doohan have since seized those respective places.
This has ensured that Bottas’ sole chance at remaining on the F1 grid is with Sauber, the team he has been associated with since vacating his Mercedes seat in 2022.
The Finn has assessed his options narrowing as a positive development, though, citing that Sauber’s imminent transition into Audi lands at the right time in his career.
“In the last few months I’ve had to keep my eyes and ears open, what’s happening, and trying to read the driver market, because there’s been no guarantees of me staying here,” Bottas told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview.
“But now, there’s a clear direction, a clear priority, and still I think in the long term it could be really interesting, and there could be some success in sight if I can get into the project.
“I feel like that’s what I need at this stage of my career, I need a clear project into which to focus, and that’s obviously at the moment easier, and for Audi.”
Audi is poised to experience an uphill task to hit the ground running as it will combine a nascent engine build with a Sauber team whose car is the slowest on the grid.
However, the marque has reacted to a point-less 2024 with a management upheaval which has seen erstwhile Ferrari boss Mattia appointed to replace Andreas Seidl.
Binotto, who is Sauber’s Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, has poached long-time Red Bull Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley to be Audi’s Team Principal.
The Swiss-Italian’s hire has been a blessing to Bottas, who has expressed that being exposed more to Audi’s intentions has reinstalled his credence that it will prosper.
“I think changes is one part of it, but a big part of it is what I’ve learned in terms of the investments they’ve done, of the facilities that they have,
the people that they have, the people they are about to get, [it] just gives me confidence that they will be successful.
“They’ve got a pretty impressive setup at the moment, planned for the future, and it’s just a matter of time.
“It’s never going to be an easy road, joining F1, but they’ve got the resources, not Audi.”
With Sauber set to encounter another mediocre season in 2025, Bottas has reiterated that a long-term deal to cover Audi’s moniker above the door is what he desires.
But despite turning 35 late last month, the ex-Mercedes driver has denied that time is against him as he sets his sights on adding to his 10 race wins and 67 podiums.
“I think Fernando [Alonso, 42] is a benchmark, maybe an outlier, but I still have time,” he reasoned.
“I’m actually just getting into my mid-30s now, so age is not an issue.
“In this sport, with experience, you can always gain something more. I still feel like I’ve got many years ahead of me, and I’m not seeing the chequered flag yet.”
Binotto has divulged that he is weighing up whether to go with experience in the second Sauber seat or prioritise new blood with a rookie driver alongside Hulkenberg.
In the circumstance where he selects the latter and Bottas misses out, the ex-Mercedes driver could take the route of Daniel Ricciardo and chase a reserve driver role.
Ricciardo’s F1 career appeared to be over when McLaren elected to drop him once 2022 concluded, but a return to Red Bull opened up a mid-season return to the grid.
Asked whether that was something he would consider, Bottas suggested that it would depend on whether he could combine it with a permanent race drive elsewhere.
“I think I would have to monitor all the options, what makes sense for the future, for the short term and long term,” he said. “But for sure I would be racing something.”
Pressed on the racing series he would be most attracted to outside F1, Bottas disclosed that he harbours an interest in America’s leading single-seater championship.
“If I would have to decide now, it would probably be IndyCar,” he professed. “But I don’t want to think about it too much yet.”
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