F1 race winner Bottas labels his Sauber career ‘a mistake’ after difficult 2024

Valtteri Bottas has given a damning assessment of his three-year stint with Sauber following his rough finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

After a collision with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ended his race at the Yas Marina Circuit prematurely, 35-year-old Bottas simply said his move to Sauber in 2022 “was a mistake,” before adding, “But we can’t predict the future.” 

Speaking after the Abu Dhabi GP, Bottas noted how “everything started off well in the first year, but since then, it was [all] downhill.”

He explained how much of his decision to join Sauber following a hugely successful five-year tenure with Mercedes was down to the presence of then- Sauber team boss Fred Vasseur. 

“There was a clear plan for targets for the three years, and also how to get there. But those plans and targets went into the bin when he left,” Bottas added, noting that they “had a good relationship.” 

Not that Bottas wanted to lay any blame on Vasseur, admitting that “for a team principal, if you have a chance to go to Ferrari, you go.”

Vasseur left Sauber in January 2023 to take over as Ferrari team boss following the departure of now Sauber chief technical officer Mattia Binotto. 

Bottas revealed that once Vasseur’s departure to the Scuderia was confirmed, he did consider leaving the team, but was convinced by their incoming owners, German manufacturer Audi, to remain.

“I did have an option that if Fred goes, I can go, but I was then, once Audi was confirmed, I was always told I would be a pillar for the project,” he said, adding, “Well, that didn’t happen.”

In their sole season together at Sauber, then called Alfa Romeo, Bottas was a top-10 regular, finishing a high of fifth at Imola and ending the year in 10th place with 49 points.

But once Vasseur departed for Italy, things quickly turned sour at the Swiss team. Bottas only reached the top-10 three times in 2023, dropping to scoring only 10 points for the season.

The situation then nosedived in 2024, with Bottas failing to score a single point for the first time in his career.

It wasn’t just Bottas who struggled. Following six top-10s between 2022 and 2023, teammate Zhou Guanyu scored the team’s only points of the 2024 season with an eighth-placed finish in Qatar. As a result, Kick Sauber finished the year last in the constructors championship.

Bottas and Zhou are both set to hit free agency this offseason, with veteran Nico Hulkenberg and reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto taking their seats for the team’s final season before it takes on the Audi name.

As for Bottas, his future remains unconfirmed, although it has been reported that he looks likely to return to Mercedes as a reserve in 2025. But this may not be the end of Bottas as a starter in F1, with Cadillac set to join the grid in 2026 and Bottas admitting he has his eye on potential “opportunities” to return.

“That’s what I hope so, and that’s the target. I think there will be, there will be opportunities. But for that, I still need to keep driving, make sure I get some testing. Be involved,” he added.

Photos from Abu Dhabi GP Race