Valtteri Bottas open to shock Mercedes return as F1 2025 Plan B revealed

Valtteri Bottas has admitted that he “would consider” a return to Mercedes as a reserve driver for F1 2025 if he is dropped by the Audi F1 team.

Audi F1, who will take over the existing Sauber team in F1 2026, remain the only non-Red Bull team yet to finalise their driver lineup for next season.

Valtteri Bottas open to Mercedes return as F1 2025 reserve driver

The Swiss-based team announced the signing of Nico Hulkenberg from Haas in April, but have been forced to consider other options after seeing other top targets Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon join Williams and Haas respectively.

Bottas told media including PlanetF1.com at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix that he has agreed terms on a deal to stay with the soon-to-be Audi F1 team for F1 2025, with the Finn awaiting a final decision from boss Mattia Binotto.

Audi F1 have been linked with a number of other drivers including Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher, McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto and Williams driver Franco Colapinto.

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Having warned in Austin, Texas, that he could be forced to set a “hard deadline” on an Audi F1 decision, Bottas revealed that he would be open to a return to Mercedes if he loses his race seat at the end of F1 2024.

Bottas collected 10 victories across five seasons with Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, with the 35-year-old known to have a close relationship with team boss Toto Wolff, who previously acted as his manager.

He said: “Firstly, the priority is to stay as a race driver, that’s what I want, and that’s what I’m pushing for with Mattia.

“But, of course, as I don’t have anything signed – we’re in October – I’ve got to look at all the alternatives including going back to the Mercedes family.

“That’s for sure one option and I would consider it.

“But there’s other options as well, as well as going back to my priority, which is to be a race driver even more.”

Asked about the nature of his discussions with Binotto, who replaced former McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl as the head of the Audi F1 operation last summer, Bottas added: “We are in an almost daily basis, keeping in touch with Mattia – sometimes about technical stuff, sometimes about the future.

“We’ve pretty well agreed everything in terms of the terms and stuff like that. Now it’s just, the ball is in their camp so I’ll keep waiting and doing my job.”

Mercedes will lose a huge amount of experience in F1 2025 as Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time World Champion, joins Ferrari on a multi-year contract.

The Brackley-based outfit announced over the Italian Grand Prix weekend that teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli will become George Russell’s new team-mate for next season.

Russell previously replaced Bottas as Hamilton’s team-mate at the beginning of the 2022 season.

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