Valtteri Bottas role change? New paddock rumour about Mercedes return spreads

Tipped to return to Mercedes next year, Valtteri Bottas is reportedly not in line for a driver role but rather a management one as an “advisor” to Toto Wolff.

Bottas’ Grand Prix days are, at least for now, drawing to an end after Sauber announced they had not agreed terms with the Finnish racer for 2025.

Valtteri Bottas is expected to take up a position at Mercedes

Mattia Binotto confirmed to the media including PlanetF1.com that “duration” was the sticking point in continuing together amidst reports Bottas wanted a multi-year deal but the team was only willing to offer one.

The team instead signed Gabriel Bortoleto as Nico Hulkenberg’s team-mate, confirming an all-new line-up for 2025.

But while little has been said about Bottas’ team-mate Zhou Guanyu’s plans or prospective plans for the future, the Finn is expected to make a soft landing at his former team Mercedes.

The 10-time Grand Prix winner hinted at that when he told the media before the Sauber announcement that he was looking “at all the alternatives including going back to the Mercedes family”.

Mercedes added fuel to that fire when they responded to an ‘I miss him and it’s just a sports player’ thread with a photograph of Bottas.

But while it was widely suggested Bottas could take up a reserve driver role at Mercedes, Christian Fittipaldi believes he will instead take up Jereme d’Ambrosio’s role as an advisor to Wolff.

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“What they told me at the track is that it looks like he is going back to Mercedes, associating with Toto as a bit of an advisor,” the Brazilian racer told the Pelas Pistas podcast.

“He has a history with them and being there at Mercedes would make all the sense in the world, Toto believes a lot in his experience and what he can add to the team.

“Also remember that Jerome D’Ambrosio left and went to Ferrari so apparently Bottas vacated his place again. I’m not exactly sure it’s a similar function, but I think he’ll end up there.”

Former F1 driver and Formula E team boss D’Ambrosio joined the Mercedes F1 team in 2023 as a Driver Development Director and was tipped to be Wolff’s replacement when the time comes for the team boss to step down.

However, earlier this year Ferrari announced they’d signed the Belgian to fill the role of Deputy Team Principal and Head of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Bottas taking up a management role will be good news for new Mercedes signing Kimi Antonelli after Juan Pablo Montoya warned him that if the Finn is in a reserve role, he would be a “safe” option should Antonelli implode.

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