Bottas Admits Sauber Deal Was a Career-Defining Mistake
Dec.8 - Valtteri Bottas says that if he could rewind the past three years, he wouldn't have signed on the dotted line at Sauber.
With the exception of the axed Logan Sargeant, former 10-time grand prix winner Bottas, 35, is the only driver who has raced in 2024 without a single point to his name.
However, with the Finn departing the grid for now after losing his Audi-Sauber seat, he qualified an impressive P9 for the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
"It felt like one of the best laps of my career," Bottas told Viaplay.
"It's a bit of a shame that it's so late this season and the tricks are only now starting to work. A bit ironic maybe," he added.
"If you look at the whole season, it's better that we are parting ways now."
Bottas is fully expected to return to Mercedes to replace Mick Schumacher as his former team's reserve driver in 2025. "Next week, it is planned that we lock in what we are doing for next year," he said.
"Let's finish this race first and then focus on what's next."
Bottas has made 'What's Next?' a viral marketing slogan since losing his Sauber seat for 2025 - and it is quite clear that F1 remains in his plans.
"I feel like I haven't finished with this sport," he said. "I still have something to give, so I'm going to keep going."
He freely admits that his three-year Sauber contract ultimately resulted in a career dead-end.
When asked if moving to the Swiss team was perhaps not his wisest ever decision, Bottas told Ilta Sanomat newspaper: "If I could go back three years, I would have gone somewhere else.
"Unfortunately, that's true. This was a big mistake, but it's hard to predict these things in advance. And the first year with (Frederic) Vasseur was good. The team spirit was good and the results were quite good.
"The last two seasons after that have been like going downhill the whole time. Of course, that kind of thing affects my image as a driver too. If you can't show results, the name is kind of forgotten."
Bottas recently described the 2024 season overall as "sh*t".
He explains in Abu Dhabi: "When we made the goals for 2022 with Fred and how we would reach them, we had a clear plan. But after he left, all the goals and plans went to the scrap heap."
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