Valtteri Bottas has asserted that some people within Formula 1 have “short memories” as he strives to salvage his place on the grid past the ongoing 2024 campaign.
Bottas has entered the final season of his deal with Sauber, and he is awaiting a decision on whether the team intends to retain him as it prepares to morph into Audi.
The Finn has expressed his desire to be involved once the German marque enters F1 in 2026 as it bids to revive a side that has regressed since Bottas’ arrival in 2022.
Sauber utilised a regulation reset in 2022 to score 51 points inside nine rounds, but it has been unable to sustain that as it has landed 20 points in the 50 events since.
The Hinwil-based squad’s continuous plight has seen it end up as the sole team still to score a single point in 2024, as it has struggled with an uncompetitive C45 car.
Asked to highlight the reasons behind Sauber’s on-track woes this term, Bottas has reiterated his credence that the upheaval behind the scenes has been a hindrance.
“I think there’s multiple things why we, let’s say, haven’t met the targets,” Bottas told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview at Zandvoort last month.
“Obviously we’ve had the second change in the leadership in the team recently, and I think the team has been trying to structure it for the better future for a while now.
“Now again with a new leader, let’s say. So things haven’t been that stable, and I think that can always reflect a bit the performance on track.”
Meanwhile, Bottas has also conceded that the pit stop issues that blighted Sauber’s prospects in the nascent rounds have had an impact on the team’s development.
The Swiss outfit has once more lagged behind the competition when it comes to delivering updates, with the Dutch Grand Prix witnessing both cars bring up the rear.
“In all seasons we’ve had our own issues,” he continued. “This year, in the beginning of the year, it was many of the pit stop issues that were actually costing quite a bit of resources and time to get sorted, instead of purely focussing on making the car better. So, yeah, it’s been not so stable in terms of the people we have.
“We’ve had recently people coming in, people leaving, so it’s more like everything is being shaped for the future. I think that has cost us some resources.”
Sauber’s uncompetitive stance has come at the wrong time on the drivers’ side as Bottas and Guanyu Zhou have not been provided the platform to stake their claim.
Despite possessing a convincing margin over team-mate Zhou in the head-to-head, Bottas has not had the equipment to deliver the results his outings have merited.
“Yeah, it’s not an easy situation to be in as a driver, because you struggle to prove what you can do,” he admitted.
“If people just look at the results, it’s quite easy to judge.
“But the main thing is I know how I’m performing, the team knows how I’m performing, and in the end that’s what matters.
“The people who know about driver performance, they will still see what you can do, what you can achieve if you have the machinery.”
The earlier change in management that Bottas alluded to was Audi electing to oust CEO Andreas Seidl to install erstwhile Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto to head Sauber.
Following the announcement, Bottas disclosed that he had “quite little communication” with the old regime compared to the open dialogue that he’s had with Binotto.
The 10-time F1 race winner is certain that the Swiss-Italian having observed what he can do in race-winning cars with Mercedes will be a boost to his 2025 prospects.
Questioned on why the relationship with Seidl and ex-Chief Representative Oliver Hoffmann was lacking the respect that he wanted, Bottas pondered: “It’s a tough one.
“I guess if people have short memories, let’s say with the previous leadership, they’ve only seen me in a car that doesn’t perform, and nothing before that close by.
“But I think the difference with Mattia is that he was in a battle against us when I was at Mercedes, and he could monitor what I can do, and I could steal some points from them, so he knows that. Like I said yesterday, I think we started the discussions in the right way with good respect, and that’s what I really appreciate.
“So we’ll continue the discussions, but for me it’s clear what I want, and what I want is to be in F1 until Audi joins.”
Sauber boasts the last remaining seat to be occupied on next season’s grid, but that wouldn’t have been the case had Audi managed to lure Carlos Sainz to the team.
Sainz’s desire to take several months to consider his available options saw the driver market grind to a halt as multiple teams waited upon the Ferrari driver’s answer.
The Spaniard, who is a three-time F1 race winner, would proceed to hedge his bets on Williams, a team which Bottas was in discussions with over a potential reunion.
When asked whether it was frustrating that a driver who has achieved less in the sport was being prioritised above him, Bottas replied: “I think that’s how the sport is.
“People get really short memories in this sport, but like I said, luckily there are still people who know. So I’m reliant on that,” he concluded.
Bottas’s time is up. He’s never been more than a make up the numbers driver. He had four years in a Mercedes that was massively dominant, with consistent one-two finishes over seven seasons, that no other car has ever achieved. Yet he won only ten races in those four years, whereas Rosberg, hardly one of the greats himself, had won twenty-one races in three years. Bottas simply did not deserve that car, his talent didn’t merit it, and he was an utter carpet in competition with his teammate, putting up no fight at all. He’s going at last, and I’ll be pleased to see the back of him.
I think you are forgetting the reason that teams run two cars… Hamilton is a seven time World Champion & he said Bottas is the best wingman he ever had. Some drivers are team players !!
Another great exclusive from Motorsport Week!