Valtteri Bottas has hinted that he would be open to a move to Red Bull amid Yuki Tsunoda’s current struggles, but revealed that a “certain person” within the Formula 1 giants would likely prevent it from happening.
The Finn rejoined his former team Mercedes as its reserve driver for this year, having lost his drive with Sauber at the end of 2024.
Bottas, 35, was left without a permanent race seat and opted to take a vacancy back at the Brackley-based squad, as a back-up to the man who replaced him – George Russell – and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Bottas revealed late last year that he had offered his services to Red Bull, but the approach was turned down, saying: “I feel like there are some people at Red Bull who don’t really like me for some reason.”
And in an interview with F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Bottas revealed he held talks with the Milton Keynes-based outfit but reaffirmed his belief about at least one figure in the organisation who would block his signing.
“It just [got] put down quite quickly because I think there’s certain persons, or a person, within the Red Bull organisation that for some reason is not a big fan of mine,” he said.
“I don’t know if they look outside their academy. They have so many drivers, they’ve got their junior team as well.”
Despite the aforementioned young talent that Red Bull boasts, Bottas theorised whether a driver of his experience may be able to handle the floundering RB21 better than someone of more tender years.
“It’s a tough one because it seems like it’s not an easy car to drive,” he acknowledged.
“Obviously Max is doing the job. He’s really pushing almost beyond the limits of the car. And whoever has been alongside him hasn’t looked great.
“But I don’t know. I just wonder if that car, to be driven fast, needs a driver with experience.
“That’s my speculation, but I think they know that I’m keen to race. They know that I would be available for next year. But I don’t know their mindset on that.”
Bottas brands Cadillac an ‘interesting project’
Bottas also revealed he had held talks with Alpine, which will become a Mercedes customer team from next year, and the nascent Cadillac team, which debuts as the 11th team on the grid in 2026.
Cadillac is thought to have a number of drivers under consideration, including Bottas’ former team-mate Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher and Sergio Perez.
Bottas’ 12 seasons in F1 could help him be placed higher on the American brand’s list of potential drivers, and he conveyed his interest in the team, calling it an “interesting project”.
“If I would be there as a driver, it would be actually very interesting because you can start from scratch, the team starts from zero and you could actually make a big influence on certain things, which direction to go,” he added. “That would be very motivating and rewarding when the success comes.”
Bottas also said that he had received an offer for an IndyCar drive, ultimately turning it down.
However, he did suggest he would be willing to try racing in America, in contrast to many F1 drivers who have previously ruled it out.
“Ovals, I’ve never tried them, but I’ve got no concerns,” he said.
“If it’s not Formula 1 next year for me, I definitely need to figure out what is the plan B, and one option definitely is IndyCar.
“And if that would be the case I would want to commit to many years because I know it’s not going to be easy.
“It’s a different category, different cars, different tracks. But let’s not talk about it too much yet, try to stay within F1.”
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