Valtteri Bottas's fate is pointless

Audi's future may not include Valtteri Bottas, instead looking toward F1's return to South America.
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Valtteri Bottas’s future in Formula 1 is looking uncertain as Sauber’s last remaining seat for 2025 gains massive attention from younger, up-and-coming drivers. Despite the media touting Bottas as a favorite, the reality seems far from promising. With rookies like Franco Colapinto and Gabriele Bortoleto catching the attention of F1 teams and fans, veteran drivers like Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Daniel Ricciardo are at risk of being replaced. Sauber’s shifting management, financial struggles, and changing goals are adding even more pressure to Bottas's position. Is this the end of Bottas's F1 journey?
As the demand for new talent rises, Sauber is increasingly looking to South American drivers to inject fresh energy into their team. Franco Colapinto, backed by his home country of Argentina, is quickly becoming a fan favorite and proving his potential on the F1 grid. Will Sauber take a bold step and trust in the rookies, or will they continue with their veteran drivers? Watch to find out the latest on Bottas, Hulkenberg, and the rising stars of Formula 1, and where Sauber is heading next in this competitive F1 landscape!
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Valtteri Bottas's fate is pointless
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, "fair use" is allowed for things like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is when a copyright law lets you use something in a way that would otherwise be against the law. In some scenes, race footage from the Formula 1 calendar is used whose rights belong to FOM. Other photos and news items are only used to help the original content.

[@LawVS]

Climb the ladder with me on Patreon: patreon.com/lawvs My socials: linktr.ee/lawvs

[@edenkim4103]

Imagine a Race winner gets 0 points in all season, if Bottas gets 0pts until Las Vegas: RETIRE

[@zenklar]

I guess we will have to wait for Robin Ace Räikkönen for a few years to get the next Fin in F1

[@TheQuestionaire]

Justice for Drugovich He was on the list of drivers to be picked if Carlos didn’t join has everyone forgotten about that?

[@jakebaldwin9713]

Your actually the only f1 KZbinr that doesn’t spend 20 mins repeating the same point with different wording. Thank you for the great content 🙌🏻

[@muhidnaveed2617]

he deserves a seat in f1. he is much better than some of the other drivers on the grid. i hope he wins the indy 500 or le mans and another big 24 hr race.

[@ericthomas6429]

I completely disagree. The only thing he is good at by now are his social media posts. He would be long out of F1 if Rosberg did not call it a day back at the end of 2016 and he did not get that overpowered Mercedes seat.

[@motelghost477]

Bottas has had his time, now it's someone else's turn. All he's doing is preventing a young driver from getting their start in F1.

[@ExodiaNecross2]

It's time for bottas to go his time is up along with ricciardo

[@joakimjeppsson1443]

@@ericthomas6429 To be fair 10 race wins and a total of 67 podium positions is not bad no matter what car you're in. Good enough to be a second driver in a race winning team, securing WCC on a consistent basis and not causing drama

[@Eriksen-wp3tv]

​@@joakimjeppsson1443Bottas isn't staying at Audi for a second driver place, race wins and securing an WCC...

[@TheSlowoldman]

I said at the start of the season during your livery unveilings that I felt so sorry for Valterri to end his F1 career in that abomination of a livery.... I had no idea I'd be right about the livery and the tractor underneath that god awful livery.

[@motelghost477]

"Marketable assets" I get why this phrase makes you want to puke. F1 is supposed to be about winning on track, not winning on twitter.

[@FaSCoRP]

I'm from Argentina, and I was following F1 since the Carlos Reutemann times, "Drive to Survive" did a big bump here but Colapinto is a peak. We are happy and many people are following it, and the sport as never before. All your comments about it are nice and true. Thanks

[@LawVS]

Even if Franco only has this stint in his record sheet, it's guaranteed him stardom in Argentina for life surely.

[@RainbowDemon]

I honestly dont think Valtteri will be too sad in the end. He had a very long and tenured run in F1 and I’m sure he will have a blast biking in silly places with his millions, maybe go to Nascar or WEC.

[@LawVS]

Oh yeah. He will probably head off to Northern Europe and rally for the rest of his days.

[@daarom3472]

Valtteri won a lot more races than a lot more talented drivers did. So he should be happy.

[@ericrickert3045]

I always thought Valtteri Bottas would be the perfect driver for Red Bull instead of Sergio Perez.

[@edgarin8907]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Otroroboto]

Nah. Perez helped Max win in 2021 with his brilliant defense, Valterri did little to help Lewis.

[@Ponchov009]

​@@Otrorobotothis exactly.

[@leonardocarvalho4550]

Im Brazilian and I have to say that we really want to see Bortoleto in F1, but most of us are also willing to see Colapinto on the grid. I think both of them deserves a chance in F1

[@mateuszzawada4723]

That's... THAT'S WHY we need more teams in F1. I want to see Franco stay, I also want Gabriel to join F1.. not enough seats on the grid

[@JimTheFly]

A usual argument against expansion when it comes to sports leagues in the US is that "it'll water down the talent pool". And *technically* that's right, but what's not realized in conjunction with that argument is that when a sport is on the ascendance (which F1 is, when you take the junior programs and the feeder series into account), it makes that same talent pool stronger, and you have people who can not get a position, either as a driver or as an engineer or whatever, who then have the ability and knowledge that would have made them a definite hire 15-20 years ago but now are just unable to get the position because of the scarcity of those positions. Just imagine any other sport where you have someone who is Player Of The Year at the 2nd tier of the sport being told "Well, you can't compete at this level anymore. However, none of the teams at the top level have a space for you. Good luck going somewhere else until we figure something out! Or maybe they'll sign you on to help on the training squad." But we've had that 3 times in the last 5 years with de Vries, Drugovich, and Pourchaire (who was supposed to be That Guy but then... *shrug*). And while Bortoleto is being looked at for an F1 seat... what if Hadjar turns around his absolutely shambolic run of form? He's lost 34 points to Bortoleto in the last 3 race weekends, even with a win in the feature race at Spa. Now you've got ANOTHER driver just... *there*. I think a lot of us just want to see drivers get opportunities, and there's a lot of good young drivers coming up that haven't gotten them and others that probably won't. All because of the 10-team Cool Kids Club.

[@Tamanstormwind]

"Marketable assets" yes, but also "don't have a 50/50 chance of incurring massive budgetcap-eating repair bills every weekend". That was one of the biggest gripes I had with cost cap proposals back in 2019-2020, that it basically dooms young driver programs.

[@AlexGreat87]

Piece of random data: Brazil is the 8th biggest economy in the world with the 6th largest population. It is not a small market.

[@AlexGreat87]

Also, their national football team sucks right now, if Bortoleto gets in, and he is solid, he might get a HUGE fan base as Brazilians need some sport to be happy about rn

[@LawVS]

Oh of course. These markets are MASSIVE and Brazil's been clamouring for an F1 driver since Massa retired. I'm right with them in wishing Bortoleto gets a chance...but that being said, Franco is a good egg.

[@usedtoexistonce]

neymar posted about bortoloeto taking the lead in the f2 championship the hype is very much real

[@maltwhiskey1424]

@@LawVS Felipe Drugovic is Brazilian too !! And F2 CHAMPION !!

[@MrWarhead16]

​@@maltwhiskey1424 too bad the window licker is taking his seat.

[@sapphirekennedy]

I’m a huge Bottas fan. I’d love to see him in another racing series that embraces his personality. Like maybe he and Ricciardo could start an IndyCar or V8 Supercar team. They’d be epic together. I feel like their marketability must be of use to SOME racing series somewhere…

[@ChrisBl33p]

Schumacher going to Sauber would be a full circle moment for the family, being that Michael drove for their sportscar program before F1. But let's be real here, he's got no shot. If Williams refused to replace Logan Sargent with Mick, then that speaks louder than any ability that he has. As for Franco Colapinto, dude physically looks like a reincarnation of Ayrton Senna. Time will tell if he is as lightning fast too.

[@nehemiasgroppi4397]

As an Argentine it bothers me a little, it's a little bit uncanny the similarities, but... It's such a dumb pressure, Senna is such a huge monumental man for F1, no way comparing Franco to him is fair, hopefully he is able to race like him, but I would never put him in that place.

[@iliketoast-q9b]

Well they didn't replace Mick because he was bad, but because he was, in the words of James Vowls, "not special". That is actually much higher praise than Mick gets from the "fans" of the sport, as Vowles also said that he is in fact a good driver and he proved that last weekend at Fuji. But with only 9 races left and nothing to loose, Williams just wanted to try out new talent and also lets not forget that not taking Colapinto would descredit the entire Williams driver academy.

[@watchnocatch171]

Well, James refused Mick because he seems to have a weird relation to the Schumacher family and more importantly of course because he is egoistical, which he has to be to support his own academy's drivers. So, that's doesn't say so much. Same with Alpine. Mick was allegedly better than Doohan, but they went with him because he's their own driver. I still thinks it's hilarious that James was absolutely crazy about Carlos when Carlos himself doesn't match James' definition of being "special" either.

[@issahgyandi3365]

@@watchnocatch171 Compared to Mick, Carlos is "special".

[@watchnocatch171]

@@issahgyandi3365 Maybe. Doesn't matter. Charles would be in that category and Carlos only finishes higher than Charles when Charles has bad luck or problems with very little exceptions.

[@usedtoexistonce]

also it must be said valtteris reaction to andreas seidl being replaced by mattia binotto gave a lot of insight into what was going on at that team he seemed happy to see him leave

[@graemewilliams6697]

The rookies should have been brought in for this year rather than keeping the underperforming "experienced" drivers.

[@buddhaofgames6286]

Haas should have picked Bottas over Ocon. I don't see Ocon being better than Bottas.

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

Bottas is the best Aussie on the grid.

[@Thu1111]

*Worst

[@creeperpl4yer]

​@@Thu1111 *best

[@Sforzando6]

​@@creeperpl4yer *worst

[@creeperpl4yer]

@@Sforzando6 definitely not the best but not the worst, i would put him on the same level as Ricciardo

[@ExodiaNecross2]

Very mid

[@ciroalbornoz3528]

It would be very interesting if a group with money behind it and the technical capabilities wanted to enter F1 as the eleventh team on the grid, it is a shame that there is none

[@renatatostada3318]

Its a damn shame. Really wish a team--maybe even an American one--would be up to joining. It's a shame that there isn't another team practically taking a battering ram to F1's front door, almost demanding entry.

[@ELing-ib1ki]

I'm kind of hoping (it's a very far-off hope) that Geely will bring back the Lotus team, or even under Polestar/Lynk & Co which *has* been doing well in WTCR (although a FF touring car is wildly different from F1); but Geely does have the capital and the willingness to participate in motorsports

[@Imikeh]

Love that you discuss pretty much all facets of any given topic. Not just Bottas, but Sauber, rookies, everything. Keep up the great work!

[@charlesjmouse]

Always excellent, thank you. Valtteri Bottas - an example if ever there was as to how much luck plays in to a career. Gets a drive with Williams, shows he's pretty darn good, Williams going nowhere. Lucks in to a seat at Mercedes when they are at their best, more than good enough to become a WDC, but runs up against Lewis Hamilton at his best. Ends up a Sauber, has a good start, Sauber to become Audi, but falls off a cliff. Bottas may be diving the best of his career but we'd never know... likely to be dropped out of F1 as a nearly man. Maybe with *different* luck..?

[@richardm5664]

Not that I'm saying Bottas SHOULD be retained but you could put anybody in that tractor of a car and end the season saying that they achieved nothing and deserve to be replaced. I don't think either of the Sauber drivers' worth should be judged based on that heap of a car. It would be like saying that every driver that sat in a HRT, Virgin/Marussia/Manor, or Lotus in the 2010s were obviously rubbish because zero points. Or drivers propping up the back of the grid in Minardis back in the day must be garbage for also propping up the points chart. If next year's car is just as bad, will we be saying that Hulkenberg's lack of points means that he has "obviously" lost all speed and ability in the space of one season? Of course not. Bottas/Zhou are at least not having constant embarrassing crashes and incidents that usually signal a bad driver in a bad backmarker team. All of that said, I do think a Hulk/rookie combo would definitely be for the best next year. I do like Bottas, and it's depressing to see his revival post-Mercedes (after years of being kept on 1 year contracts and being Hamilton's servant) ending like this with hopeless cars, but I've also been saying for a while that it's time for a spring clean of the deadwood on the grid so that this F2 bottleneck can be cleared. Stroll, Ricciardo, and Perez are not far behind.

[@aoife1122]

Did you take notice at all of the riots at Audi's plant in Brussels the other day? Burning tyres, makeshift explosives set off... you'd think Audi have more pressing matters to attend to. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, nothing in comparison to what is about to happen when the the feces really hit the fan, i.e. Volkswagen starts shutting down production facilities in the Fatherland. Speaking of icebergs, Audi F1 reminds me of the musicians on the Titanic who famously kept on fiddling while their ship went down. Bottas isn't even in contention for that seat. Colapinto is cheap and does have some enticing backing with Argentine sponsor dough but can he match the 30+ million dollar "Joe Gung-Ho" brings to the party? Not to mention the importance of the Chinese market for Volkswagen and Audi.

[@sethhill5689]

If Sauber isn't listening to Bottas, what makes anyone think that they will listen to Nico or a rookie?

[@slip13inc]

I agree with the entire approach of the video. But I keep thinking that I feel sorry for Pouchaire and Drugovich. I think they could be in the place (and better) of some guys who are still on the grid

[@LawVS]

I feel for Theo as well, but he lacks the backing to supersede Franco or Gabi. He's right to speak out about it.

[@watchnocatch171]

I still think it's hilarious that James Vowles is trying to get Franco in another seat while hasn't been open to that for his own seat. Although understandable, pretty hypocritical. And the biggest one is his absolute obsession with Sainz who is very good of course, but still not "special" in his definition as well.

[@oxcart4172]

Keeping Franco would be too expensive as Sainz has already signed a contract with Williams

[@huynguyen-gl4sn]

If only Aston actually uses their’s 2nd seat 😂, Sir Lancelot

[@BlooDbeak]

I don't get why Théo Pourchaire isn't more in the picture. He won F2 last year and as part of the Sauber academy shouldn't he be given the first opportunity?

[@ExodiaNecross2]

No he been disappointing in super formula & indycars & didn't light up the world when he was In F2

[@aramomusic]

@@ExodiaNecross2 didnt he leave sf to race full time in indycar (which got dropped) tho? did he got back to SF?

[@huynguyen-gl4sn]

More than ever, the FIA must come in, enforce the 11th team on to F1 teams and Liberty Media, bring Andretti in and give us a balanced crop of newbies and experienced, proven driver.

[@carolinazavalarodriguez2527]

What happened with Colapinto in Argentina is crazy, all of a sudden having a national talent in F1 revived the passion for the sport for so many and introduced so many others to F1 altogether, now families here get together to watch the races like they are a football match (with all the meaning that has here) so I really hope Franco gets a seat in F1 soon, he has a whole country and multiple generations rooting for him 💙🤍💛🤍💙

[@arkangelarkangel1302]

If Gabriel Bortoleto wins F2 this year, then he completes a feet that guys like Piastri and Leclerc have done in the past, and Audi would be stupid not to get Bortoleto... in my opinion it's a rap, 🇧🇷 finally gets a guy to cheer for.

[@usedtoexistonce]

vb can be happy with his work 10 grand prix wins couple of poles kept lewis hamilton in his prime on his toes sometimes and offered great service as a number 2 driver the other times i would love it if he raced in v8 supercars since he has transformed into an aussie full time

[@joehynes2964]

Lots of new faces on the grid in 2025. I'm here for it.

[@kingchucklesii2197]

Omfg i just briefly forgot alpine was even a team and I've watched every race for the last 3 years

[@edgarin8907]

Can you make a video on Ricciardos fate

[@the_untitled__]

I'm not sure getting Drake to back then is a good headline anymore💀💀💀💀

[@inspiredglue2056]

Please give us Colapinto in ANY team next year, please. He's so good.

[@karki5376]

If you watch the hulkenberg onboard of the azerbaidjan gp, you can definetly see that he should've scored points. He was too careful under the yellows, which lead to bearman and lewis jumping immediately after they passes the crash scene and the track turned green again.

[@AlexGreat87]

Law, if Valteri is out (which I agree he should) there won't be any Finnish drivers in the lineup, it feels as wrong as no Brazilians too

[@LawVS]

That's very true...but it might not be like that for long. There's Tuukka Taponen who will be probably stepping up to F3 next year.

[@issahgyandi3365]

They're all... Fin(n)ish(ed). Badum tisch...

[@PimpinBassie2]

Bott-as should drive his final grand prix in his favourite clothing: leather peaked visor, chaps etc...

[@Banyo__]

I think everyone was freaking out over Nyck DeVries and how terrible of a gamble that went, so last years silly season, was a waste, but now, it just took that glimmer with Lawson and Bearman to really show teams that YES, rookies are going to make mistakes, but the whole point of all this is so that they can eventually get to F1. I know there is loyalty to the likes of Bottas, but they've had several seasons, and as we know, regardless if the car sucks or not, if you're not scoring/making podiums, your stock plummets. Now they'd rather have a young gun in there at least learning the ropes for the future now when it doesn't matter, rather than have to start fresh with new regulations. We'll see....

[@mcordovadarthwolf666]

Okay, hear me out. If Colapinto outscores Albon this season, I feel that Vowels will not lend Colapinto to Audi instead. Colapinto will get the reserved driver seat to Williams for 2025, and in 2026, he will replace Albon. Also, McLaren will not allow Bortoleto to race for Audi, knowing about their history with Senna. From a marketing perspective, McLaren cannot allow another team to be the ones that debut the next Brazilian sensation. So the realistic option is Theo or Bottas. Also, if the new Audi management doesn't want the Hulk they are probably looking for a contract loophole to drop him in 2026.

[@kendaldk5634]

Imagine if Haas manages to get a podium next year. Man I would feel so bad for Nico.

[@duskspiralwastaken7935]

It’ll be sad to see Bottas go from F1, but it would be AWESOME to see him rallying all over Europe

[@adblox]

I wanna replace one of the four new sauber drivers for 2025. Mick Schumacher to Zane Maloney Mick Schumacher had a rough two years in the sport, joining at a bad time a bad team into a bad situation when he was with Mazepin and the Uralkali Haas then a second season being overshadowed by K-Mag. But I don't think that anyone is willing to risk Mick Schumacher. And for Zane Maloney, simply for the fact he's been consistent, and has had a good season and a good weekend out there in Bahrain.

[@inspiredglue2056]

It's still huge that Mercedes have so much faith in a rookie to sign him when they may be a title winner next year. Haven't seen that since McLaren and Hamilton, I think?

[@jakepearce7776]

With how long teams were relying on marketable assets, I was somewhat expecting a return to the random shouts of "MARKETING!" before long. Glad to see that might not see that happening but it's a bit of a shame to see how it's treating Bottas now.

[@patrickharris6720]

Very happy that it seems a full quarter of the grid will be next year will be rookies. Even better if we actually had an 11th team to let some more talent in.

[@JordanHarris]

Don't you know who Drake is? Him backing any team is bad news for that team. Drake is Not Like Us.

[@StephanOleara1228]

It’s great they’re bringing in more rookies, but man how much would it suck if next year when some teams realized they got themselves a Logan Sargents on the grid 😅. I’d be curious to see who comes back to fill their old seat if some of these rookies can’t preform

[@jeffery7281]

Honestly, although it sounds helpless, this could be the best time if Bottas wanna retired. Retire now, and everyone will remember him as the best No.2 driver in Merc's dominant days, and after him went to Sauber, he coached Zhou to be a good driver. But if he decided to stay in Sauber, then well...

[@adicontra]

i never liked bottas. it was a good driver, talented, but his career ended with "valteri, it's james". the man has no spine, no b@lls, no motivation. he prefered to let lewis pass so many times instead of fighting - comparing bottas with perez, bottas was there: 2017 winning when lewis couldnt, perhaps helping lewis to win the wc, 2018 was there with poles, with fastest laps. but ended with all those no.2 driver drives. ps. as i said.. all this old dudes (hulk, lewis, alonso, ricci, kevin) mult go away.

[@reshmapm2578]

A lot of drivers on the grid who don't deserve the seat. F1 will be a different ball game if we had competent drivers throughout.

[@SirZuri]

Of course "mainstream media" are reporting that Bottas is the favourite for the seat. Because frankly, he is. If Audi doesn't give a damn about 2025 (which they probably don't) and just want two very experienced drivers to build up the team by working in the sim for 2026 and don't crash a lot and cost them millions in repairs (money they could invest into the 2026 challenger), i don't see how they could not take Bottas. Audi would only be interested in Colapinto or Bortoleto if they could get them out of their academy contracts. Otherwise Audi would just act as a training ground for a competitor which is clearly not what a serious works team wants. And buying one of them out for a couple of millions if you have Pourchaire or even Maloney in your own academy wouldn't make too much sense. And yes, any Mick rumours are bs fueled by german media. While i am impressed with what Bearman and Colapinto are currently doing in F1, i don't really get this new-found excitement for literally any rookie. Of course it's great if rookies (especially the "special" ones) are able to get into F1 but currently it seems like the viewers just want new drivers because they hope any of them would turn into a Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc. Seems like those people are mainly interested in the gambling aspect of it all. But if they don't perform in their first three races the same people will turn on those rookies and demand for them to be replaced. Again, gambling. Audi only needs a rookie if it's someone that they could see being a top driver in F1 in a few years. They don't need to bring a driver in who is expected to be a decent midfield driver in his prime. You will always find those drivers on the market. That's also why i don't understand Alpine putting Doohan in their second seat. He is not an exciting rookie in my opinion and will not be better as someone like Gasly. But kudos to Alpine to stick with their academy and put their trust in him. Let's be real for a minute: Sauber's car is abysmal. If you'd put a Bearman, Colapinto, Pourchaire or Bortoleto into this car we would all talk about how they are not F1 material because they would be fighting for P15 every weekend. When Bottas was good enough to score points the team blew it with slow pitstops or because his engine blew up. So yeah, nothing more he could've done except beating his teammate with which he is currently wiping the floors with. But i agree, i think Zhou will stay at Sauber as a reserve because he is incredibly valuable for Audi to use him for marketing purposes for the Chinese market. I don't really get why you lean into "yeah he is gone" rumours so much. While this is not impossible it is far from clear. Same when it was rumoured that Audi will pull out. Nothing of it was true. Audi just doesn't seem to give a damn about any rumour that is circulating F1 media because frankly, 90% of it is made up. Yes under Seidl Bottas would've had no chance to get a new contract. It was always the plan to start 2026 with Nico and Carlos. But since Binotto is in the lead of things i truly think Bottas has a good shot at the seat. Maybe only for one year (which he stated he doesn't want) but i could see him staying for a year, beat Nico in the H2H and then look out for a new seat. I also don't think Binotto is as big of a fan of Nico as Seidl was. So good for him for locking his contract in early into the season.

[@AKACitizan101]

Ps. Who are guys like Vowles, Brown, Wolff or anyone one else all tripping over one another to advance THEIR man and agenda into Audi. They should all sod off and concentrate of their own team - none of which are recent winners. Audi should focus what’s best for them and again not gamble by throwing PAID rookies blowing their agendas trumpet for their own countries reasons. Audi have a great deal to loose - If I ran the show I wouldn’t want to increase or compound difficulties when their branding is now on the world stage - front and centre vs the Mercedes juggernaut

[@haydenw8691]

Unfortunately Bottas is in a no win situation not helped by the worst car and being 22nd in the standings in a 20 car field. If he loses the drive, there are no other drives for next year. If he keeps the drive, he stays in a team that is currently going nowhere.

[@ragadrop]

As a mexican; I want Bortoleto in the grid ; I can’t stand the Argentinian commentators

[@yesokooo]

The Drake curse really hitting Sauber this year

[@lq_12]

Just a quick fact we people from Spanish speaking countries we see America as a whole continent, yep we subdivide it into 3 geographical regions (north, center,south) but for us there is anything like a "South American continent) it would be like saying "eastern european continent" Colapinto is from the south America region but still American for us

[@lauraweiss7875]

Once we get past the guys who can’t keep it out of the wall, how much F1 success is due to the car vs the driver? Bearman and Colapinto slip into their seats and get points in mediocre (or worse) cars, but Bottas still has zero after 17 races. Buh-bye! And please take Zhou with you.

[@Victa727]

No talk of Drugovich? Maybe he look towards and Indy ride. Colapinto has been impressive though. Delivering on his opportunity.

[@NewtypeCommander]

It would be nice to see if either Colapinto, Bortoletto, or even Pourchaire to take up that second seat at Sauber/Audi. While F1 does need its veterans, it also needs new blood to keep sport fresh.

[@LawVS]

We need these kinds of waves every few years where the creme de la creme of the junior ranks come in at once; that being 2019 last time.

[@hueyfreeman7810]

If they had provided a better car Bottas won't be in this position. I blame the team; not the driver.

[@BotsWeekendCovers]

So think about this. Is the quality of our experienced F1 drivers that bad or the rookies that good, I really this is option 1.

[@davidgordon7461]

I always wanted to see Hulkenberg take a podium.

[@aoife1122]

Scoring points in his second outing for Williams is quite sensational indeed. How many races did it take Boy George to achieve that (leaving him in tears because he was trashed by his teammate Goatifi in that race, )? 😂😂😂

[@wykeer]

as long as they only come as a loan and can be called back at anytime, I highly doubt that Colapinto/Bortoleto will get the seat. I dont think that Audi will settle for drivers that are not in their control.

[@mermils]

As much as i like Valterri(one of my favorite Mercedes driver due to video games), i would like to see hil stay, but since no team wants him outside sauber, its better for leave to find some new exciting challenges outside f1(indycar can be a good exemple can be great to see him and his 80s haircut during the 500),since 2 promising drivers, Bortoleto and Colapinto(if he keeps this good dynamic he could be a good candidate for the seat and if Sainz or Albon find the Audi porject interesting they could make a trade, same for Bortoleto with Mclaren in case of Norris leave(see him more likely than Piastri). All i have to say is thanks Valterri for these moments witv Williams and Mercedes(even if some criticize his run in Silver Arrows, i couldnt see even Rosberg face Prime Hamilton in peak of his art), and hope you could have fun for the new chapters in your career.

[@TheXIIIking]

While i seriously doubt it will happen, I still kinda want to see Zhou in the seat next season. though I would have preferred if Haas had taken him but unfortunately Ocon took that seat.

[@andrewstorm8240]

Started to realise that the newer talent is better than the current talent

[@LawVS]

The momentum in the last few months has swung drastically in favour of rookies. I love it.

[@aquila5115]

All I say is I think haas proved having two experienced drivers is better than not, although I like colapinto but I can’t get rid of bottas even for Franco

[@martinavery3979]

I think Audi/Sauber will keep their powder dry for a few race weekends more. See how Colapinto & other candidates do.

[@ericthomas6429]

I am hoping Gabriel Bortoleto gets that seat.

[@Stepheno0125]

I’m going to miss BotASS and his mullet, but I also think new blood is good.

[@TheNotorious2016]

Colapinto deserves a seat in my opinion.

[@renatsukami]

i think bottas should stay on for 2025 while bortoleto becomes reserve driver and then for 2026 drop either hulk or bottas and slot bortoleto into the 2nd seat

[@rodrigoescobar8137]

The new generations of drivers are better, simply because they are more prepared thanks to the sim racing and stuff. Thats my opinion. Ricciardo, Magnussen, Bottas and even Hulkenberg are not gonna keep up with them.

[@Greezshio]

Valterri, Daniel, Zhou, Checo and unpopular opinion... Lewis, can all go. Alonso is the best driver in that group so he can stay.

[@jjmulvihill]

That seat belongs to KMag!

[@Roguescienceguy]

They better try snatching COLAPINTO. Latin America is pretty much the only market that is on the up

[@guneytopal1713]

Bring in Lawson and Bortoleto

[@justgary2471]

Bottas will always be the bro's bro.

[@quertzz]

would you bring Seb to Audi? He can help build the foundation and some of that winning mentality

[@issahgyandi3365]

Ricciardo and Bottas to the USA. They will be major assets "over there". Bortoleto and Lawson to Sauber and RB respectively. Franco should take K-Mags seat. Everyone is happy.

[@issahgyandi3365]

Wait. Ocon is taking K-Mags seat, no? Tough break for Franco...

[@joshuabeckham2387]

Bearman and Ocon are driving for Haas.

[@Bexmade]

And drive for what series “over there”

[@CamPerry93]

If Franco can't get a ride for the foreseeable future, look for JHR in indycar in a few years as it is half Argentine owned and had to cut ties with their last Argentine driver because due to.....fan issues to put in mildly

[@Ks-rei]

that's was sad, but what can valtteri do ?, the team is just mess and the car is just bad, i just hope that in 2026/2027 audi will became good for nico , just hope that he will have his podium

[@l8k647]

Bring in Andretti please.

[@amindamok]

Bottas deserves better.

[@mattt525]

I think Zane Maloney is fast enough to be given a chance. I just think he doesn't have the backing

[@LawVS]

Sauber DID back him, as well as Enzo Fittipaldi...but they're not as good as Gabriel and Franco.

[@watchnocatch171]

So seems like Mick's only chance to get back into F1 is if he really comes in as the reserve driver for Mercedes and absolutely performs. But as it's going maybe that would still be not enough.

[@Fredhamleclerc]

Mick is not coming back 😊

[@watchnocatch171]

@@Fredhamleclerc That might be true, but their is no need for a smiley face. He hasn't done anything that would make him unlikeable, unless you are a hater of his father, or uncle, and need to project that onto him. The crashes he's done were big, but from tiny mistakes that other drivers do all the time as well, but in more forgiving places. When Charles and Carlos crashed many times, people seem to already have forgotten that. After all Mick was faster than Kevin, even when the points didn't show that, but that's more of Haas' fault than Mick's because he performed in the latter half of the season, but Haas didn't.

[@Fredhamleclerc]

@@watchnocatch171 yeah right Mike was faster than Kevin not mick 😜

[@watchnocatch171]

@@Fredhamleclerc Is that suppossed to be funny? Thank God, you're not a comedian. You would have less to do than Mick even.

[@oliverlotus]

I think you analysis is spot on.

[@Surfsaus]

Bottas and Ricciardo need to go.

[@LeoPerini-x7j]

Its one of the two: or the current F1 grid is mediocre or these rookies are fire.

[@manosmagram8013]

Wow!😮 I'm fully surprised that AUDI they have under their wings a mercurial talent with three championships and one time runner up behind Piastri 3 points different is only 20 years and is not even at their that's to give them a seat!😮 Yes I'm talking about Theo Pourchaire. If they looking other teams youngsters and overlook their own youths it seems to me sad situation as we never have the opportunity to see what actually can do. Poor Pourchaire why you not Latin American?😢 Seriously... That kid not left anything else he can do... He swoop all under f1 championship and if i was at his shoes and it was preferred another youngster out of team driver i will simple quit the sport for obvious reasons.

[@drewhiggins2638]

I wish ocon was out of f1 and bottas signed to haas

[@edo6701]

What you Say Is a bit messianic (and partly correct) BUT those two young talent DO NOT know the team, they are not able to develop a car from 0. Gabriel has driven his First F1 car in a private test Just 2 weeks ago. They are not ready, and (especially Franco Colapinto) looks to me a lot like Nick DeVries: a wasted talent. Where Is he now? Nowhere.

[@33Avon88]

I love the sport, i hate the fame and merchandise etc buisness of it. It feels like watching a Reality show more often then a race 😅

[@wtbanyname]

Redbull should have signed Bottas. Just sayin....

[@Codi95]

Mclaren is not afraid of the weight )

[@LawVS]

It's definitely something that will make Zak and Andrea smile.