Jan.29 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas’ chances of returning to the Formula 1 grid this year may be three times higher than was initially thought.
Just before Christmas, with Audi-owned Sauber having opted against extending its race deal with the Finn, Mercedes announced that Bottas was returning to Brackley to be the full-time reserve driver in 2025.
“Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know I’ve still got so much more to contribute to F1,” he said at the time.
The 35-year-old, currently holidaying and cycling in Australia, will mark his return to Mercedes power by driving an 80s-spec DTM touring car at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival just before the 2025 season opener.
And it’s now being reported that Bottas could have triple the chances of actually racing with Mercedes F1 power in 2025, as he’s also on stand-by for Mercedes customer teams Williams and McLaren.
According to Speed Week, following Franco Colapinto’s move to Alpine, the next in line at Williams – Luke Browning – is not ready for F1 reserve duties.
Meanwhile, McLaren’s preferred reserve, Pato O’Ward, is often not available as he is also an Indycar driver. Mercedes-powered Aston Martin, on the other hand, has its own full-time reserve, Felipe Drugovich.
Red Bull, though, finds itself in a more difficult situation, with Liam Lawson having stepped up from his earlier reserve duties to race first with Racing Bulls in 2024 and now as Max Verstappen’s teammate at the senior team.
As a result, it is believed Yuki Tsunoda will be pulled from his Racing Bulls cockpit this year in case Verstappen or Lawson are unable to race – with Ayumu Iwasa tipped to then fill the void at the Faenza based outfit.