P1racenews AI automatic summary:
It’s no surprise Valtteri Bottas was left feeling anonymous after what he endured with Stake.
Valtteri Bottas felt he ‘disappeared’ from Formula 1 in the eyes of many people during his final two years with Sauber. After five years with Mercedes, he decided to move to the Sauber organization for the 2022 campaign, when the team was operating as Alfa Romeo. Despite starting strong with the introduction of ground-effect regulations, Bottas only scored points in seven of the first nine grands prix during his time with Sauber. Unfortunately, he struggled to perform well in the remaining 59 races and failed to score a single point in the 2024 season. Bottas admits that 2024 “didn’t pan out well” and not securing a race seat for the upcoming season was “not an ideal situation”. Feeling anonymous and unnoticed, Bottas will return to Mercedes as a reserve driver. He expressed optimism for Sauber’s future when it transitions into the Audi factory team in 2026 under new leadership, stating that the team is finally starting to find stability and a clear plan after undergoing changes.
