Why is Bottas not letting “worst case scenario” end his F1 career?

valtteri bottas He may be excited about ‘what’s next’ for him in Formula 1, but there is no hiding his disappointment at how the ‘worst-case scenario’ has sidelined him.

There were a lot of expectations about the move to Alfa/Romeo Sauber In 2022 – then under the leadership of Fred Vasseur – Bottas was ultimately denied the progress he had hoped for due to the change at the top, and this season was his first season in F1 where he failed to score a point. have failed.

Overlooked in favor of a seat in Hinvil for 2025 gabriel bortolettoAnd with nowhere else to go, Bottas is returning mercedes Hopefully he can return to race action for 2026 – as a reserve driver.

The Finn has faced the challenges bravely this season – where the highlight has been his extra-curricular activities more than his on-track performances.

But for someone as competitive as Bottas, Bottas’ struggles have certainly not been easy.

Speaking to Autosport, Bottas said: “It is definitely difficult, because I want to show what I can do and shine and have my moments, but at the back it is difficult. People won’t notice and almost forget what you can achieve.

“So I think for me, it’s a little unfortunate that I got into this situation, which turned out to be the worst. This meant I was left without a seat for the next year.

“If I could go back three years, probably based on the situation now, I would have chosen another team to go to.

“But you can’t predict the future, because in the first year, when I signed with Fred for three years, there was a clear plan and clear goals.

“I think the first year was pretty good overall. But then when Fred left, things collapsed a bit, including goals and targets.

Bottas certainly couldn’t have predicted how things would go this year, as Sauber dropped to the back of the field and finished 10th in the Constructors’ Championship.

it was only zhou guanyuAn eighth-place finish in Qatar prevented the team from finishing 2024 without any points on the board.

One reason for the decline in competitiveness is that the team focused too much on its Audi plans from 2026, therefore ignoring the present.

But Bottas feels the impact of the revolving door of management with Vasseur, then Andreas Seidl and most recently Mattia Binotto has not helped things.

“There hasn’t been enough stability in terms of leadership,” he said. “We now have our third new leader within three years, and with each change at the top, that also means a number of key people’s roles. Have changed.

“People are leaving and people are coming, so naturally it takes time. I don’t think we have a solid foundation to build on yet.

“It’s like we build something, and then it falls down, and then we try again. So I think that’s the main thing, just overall lack of consistency.”

And Bottas has no doubt that if there was one thing a top team like Mercedes had during his tenure, it was consistency.

“When I was at Mercedes, he was a big force,” he said. “Everyone had long, long contracts. There was always stability.

“So you can really just focus on the work, and not waste time finding new people or firing people. So I think a lot of the top teams feel the same way.”

happy life derailed

Although things haven’t been great for Bottas on the track, there’s a certain irony in the fact that he seems happier than ever off it.

His antics are loved on social media, he has challenged himself in ways he never thought of before and he is enjoying it all.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have as much fun fighting for the results I wanted on the track,” he said. “So it has definitely been very challenging on the track.

“But I’m trying to compensate for that with my off-track life; Doing other things because I need a thrill somewhere.

“I want to accomplish my goals in something. Let’s give an example, the gravel world championships. I wanted to qualify for that, and I wanted to compete. I set it as a goal, and I achieved it, and I more or less finished it in midfield, and I was really happy about it.

“So I think putting all these things aside, I’m doing this because I need a sense of belonging to my goals and things like that. That’s why overall I’m very, very happy.”

One of his eye-opening off-track activities was when he decided to do an Ironman in the villa – a 2.4-mile swim in a small pool, a 112-mile Peloton bike ride and then a 26.2-mile marathon on the treadmill.

Speaking about that feat, Bottas said the idea came to him during dinner the previous night.

“I was actually drinking some wine and then I said: ‘There’s an Ironman tomorrow, an absolute one,'” he smiled. “So, yes, go to the pool at 6 in the morning, and we’re off!

“Halfway through, I was thinking, what am I doing? Why have I done this? But then I thought: ‘Okay, I’m halfway there. There is no way to stop now. So I had to finish it.

“I’m glad I did it. Really mentally, going through that was a very eye-opening experience. You know, you have to really dig deep and you’ll learn how much mental strength it really is. Because in the end, when your body is empty, you’re just going with your will. And when you get it done, it’s a great feeling.”

It’s this inner competitive fire, the need to push himself and the joy in everything around him that ultimately made him determined not to walk away from F1 this year.

He admitted, “That’s why I also feel like I’m not done with the game yet, because I feel like I could go on forever.”

“I have everything in very good balance, and I don’t really feel like I’m getting tired because of F1. So I feel I still have a lot to offer to the game, no matter what role it is.”