VALTTERI BOTTAS MAKES SIGNIFICANT MERCEDES CAREER CLAIM IN FIGHT FOR F1 FUTURE

He and his Sauber team may be without a point in F1 2024, but Valtteri Bottas is driving better than in his Mercedes race-winning days.

That opinion is coming from Bottas himself, in what has been a frustrating season for driver and team, Sauber the only outfit without a point on the board, while Bottas find himself 22nd and rock bottom of the Drivers’ Championship behind the axed former Williams driver Logan Sargeant and his replacement Franco Colapinto.

Valtteri Bottas driving better in F1 2024 than Mercedes days

Bottas’ next attempt to score a point comes at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, though his expectations for getting off the mark are not high.

“It definitely has been a tough few races, not just a couple,” said Bottas.

“Expectations, realistically, I don’t think it’s going to be an easy weekend, as we don’t really have any upgrades.

“But, yeah, it is a bit different track to Baku, different downforce level. If we can get things right, we can be in a better shape, but not expecting any magic, to be honest.

“But we’re still here to, of course, trying to do the best [we can]. And with this kind of grand prix, you never know, it might be the opportunity. There might be the opportunity on Sunday.”

How the F1 2025 and F1 2026 grids are shaping up

👉 F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

👉 F1 2026 driver line-up: Lewis Hamilton and 12 other drivers already confirmed for 2026

Bottas was asked whether Sauber’s struggles are now being further compounded by Colapinto’s strong start to F1 life, the Argentinian having finished P8 on his second outing in Baku.

It was even put to Bottas that Colapinto has emerged as a contender to replace him, with Williams committed to Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon for F1 2025 and beyond.

“Yeah, it’s how the sport is,” he said.

“I think it’s not just this season, but if you look at this season and the last season, when you’re fighting towards the back, obviously it’s much less visible on what you can do and what kind of performances are you having and it’s pretty much against your team-mate you can have a comparison.

“So for sure, you’re more out there if you’re fighting within the points and towards the front end, that’s just how it goes. So for sure, it has not been helped with the situation.

“But, there are still people in the paddock who know what the real performance is, and especially within the team, they know how I’m performing week into week, and that’s the main thing. I just need the people who need to know to know how I’m performing. And that’s what matters.”

In fact, Bottas – a 10-time grand prix winner all with Mercedes – believes he is exceeding that level with his current driving, as he fights to secure his F1 2025 future with Sauber which will become Audi from the following season.

Asked if he is driving as well this year as when he was winning races with Mercedes, Bottas replied: “I feel like yes, especially qualifying this year. I haven’t felt any signs of being worse.

“If anything, you keep getting better with experience, you gain more consistency, more confidence. You can solve different issues in a different way and you can adapt to the car the more time you spend in the sport.

“So I feel, actually, I’m driving better than what I did at Mercedes. But obviously it’s not that visible.”

Nico Hulkenberg is already signed to Sauber and into the Audi era, meaning one of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu – or both – will exit the team after F1 2024.

2024-09-19T14:48:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd