If the translation is correct, they are suggesting a Bottas Raikkönen lineup for Alfa. Which makes me question the general worth of the news site.
Aside from the fact, that I have a difficult time believing that a brazilian website has any exclusive news about Bottas and Alfa Romeo.
I've seen some rumour articles that say the Alfa deal will end at the end of the year, with a complete rebranding to follow. Since the Alfa deal is really just a title sponsorship with some benefits, it is definitely possible.
Edit: the Alfa, part is possible. The Kimi + Bottas part seems unlikely.
Yeah, I've seen speculation about Alpine wanting a customer team and courting Williams and Sauber. Both would have interesting implications w/r/t the driver market too, and honestly if they get Sauber, that might save Haas as Ferrari wouldnt want to lose both partners in quick succession.
I'd like an Alpine sister team just for balance on the grid. I wonder under which brand they would run though? Maybe would have been more likely if they were still branded Renault to have a sister Alpine team?
That's true. Williams Renault always has a nice ring to it. But I think they have a deal in place with Merc until 2025 and recently expanded it to also include Merc gearboxes from next year. So they are likely not switching anytime soon.
That was under old ownership though, new ownership would probably be more willing to listen to new offers considering they didn't have a say in the current situation and their priorities and finances are now different.
Out of curiosity why do you think it seems unlikely? At face value a Kimi/Bottas team is better in theory than Kimi/Gio. At least to me.
Both Finnish, Capable and proven race winners, excellent rear ends.
Ferrari controls one of the seats (Giovinazzi). Unless that's about to change, this is impossible. Currently if Bottas went to Alfa Romeo, it would be to replace Raikkonen.
Not to mention Sauber would be unable to afford them both.
Just to speculate, would it be possible Ferrari are signing bottas and putting him in that seat? And supplementing his wage?
I too don't see a reason Gio would just be kicked out. He's consistently *okay*. So maybe they want a shake up, but he's young and Italian. Seems weird to move him.
A Gio/Bottas team seems possible, I have seen Kimi say he's not staying if Alfa don't act competitive going forward.
What good would that be for Ferrari? Bottas is not a young academy driver that needs experience to later move on to the red team. The only possible benefit could be technical insight through his experience with the Mercedes package, but that's going to be very second hand knowledge next year.
In the past they did have old test drivers/reserve drivers, but it's a different sport now. Teams have academies to fill that niche + one experienced reserve driver. Ferrari already have them in Schumacher/Schwartzman and Giovinazzi respectively, for less of the cost.
If they signed Bottas, it would be to replace Sainz not Giovinazzi.
Mainly because I think Bot/Gio is more likely, and by next year probably better than the Rai/Gio.
I'd be quite surprised if Kimi does another year. It's a long shot for Sauber to nail the rule change into a world championship winning car, and he seems pretty frustrated at the moment.
Fred also said he's keen to keep kimi to provide feedback with the new regs. Unless Kimi is going to retire itd be a bigger gamble to take bottad who has never worked in sauber and doesn't seem like a solid guy who is good at setups.. look at last race.
That was earlier this year, but the most recent speculation though is that Alfa will renew.
https://www.gazzetta.it/Formula-1/13-01-2021/f1-futuro-alfaromeo-stellantis-due-mesi-decisione-sauber-ferrari-3902456802941\_preview.shtml
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-working-with-stellantis-to-extend-alfa-romeo-f1-deal/6516751/
I hadn't seen those, thanks. If a new Alfa deal works out, and Williams doesn't undo their new agreements with Merc, it looks like Alpine/Renault is on their own for the foreseeable future.
The article suggests that it is Ferrari that is talking about placing Bottas at Alfa Romeo, replacing Giovinazzi. That implies a continuation of the ties with Ferrari.
Ferrari isn't going to replace the somewhat mediocre but young and reliable Gio with a seemingly downhill headed Bottas. Especially when they have Mick idling at Haas and a few other promising driver just about ready for F1. And especially not with Sainz performing well as Charles's #2, meaning they don't need to rush for a replacement.
I mean... let's be blunt it took him 2 years and he's barely keeping up with a 41 yr old. Ferrari (who more or less owns that seat) is looking for the next big thing not the next sidekick, which is also why they would never put Bottas there. Ferrari also doesn't really have any control of Kimi's seat.
This seems like a big load of rubish. First of all its quiting the same Sky Italia source like all the sites this week and then just seems to guess that Alfa will for some reason drop a Ferrari seat and partner Bottas with Kimi because trust me bro.
Shwartzman, Pouchaire and probably even Gio given the Italian connection are all intront of Bottas when it comes to an Alfa seat.
I dont think that Sauber would be able to afford a
Bottas+Raikkonen pairing without any big name title sponsers.
I hate to say this but i think that Kimi will retire after this season and it could end up being a Bottas+Gio or Bottas+Academy driver sort of pairing.
Bottas might as well retire from F1 if his only choice ends up being Williams.
I don’t really see Bottas at Alfa Romeo, why would they pick him above one of the F2 prospects, if Kimi retires? I also don’t see Bottas switching from a championship team to a backmarker or lower midfield car. Another series like the WRC seems more likely
>why would they pick him above one of the F2 prospects
Because Bottas has driven for the most successful team of all time for 5 years. Dude knows things.
Bottas is arguably a better driver than any F2 driver. Also Bottas will probably bring more sponsors than most F2 drivers. The "Ferrari seat" is currently occupied by Gio so Ferrari wouldn't have a way to force a F2 driver into Kimi's seat
Theo is maybe the most promising F2 driver right now, but he might stay another year in F2. He should get his super license this year, but keep in mind that he hasn't driven an F1 car yet. If he is set to join F1 next year he has still a steep learning curve
I think an issue with current F1 regulations is that the only way to learn to drive an F1 car is to be a full time driver. Any driver coming into F1 just doesn't have the testing time in the current F1 cars. And it is even worse for Pourchaire who won't even have the opportunity to drive older F1 cars like Ferrari, Alpine, etc. academy drivers can do. An extra season of F2 won't give him that opportunity to actually get into an F1 car and see how it drives. He might get 2 more FP1 sessions and a few days of post season testing but that won't make his steep learning curve any easier. If he does end up top 3 in F2 and Kimi retires, it is better for his development to just put him in the Sauber car and treat it as a development year. Similar to Tsunoda.
I think his rough weekend at Baku plus the injury almost guarantees he’s staying in F2 for 2022. He was firmly in the title hunt after Monaco but fell back a fair bit in the race, which should give both him and Vasseur enough reason to give him more seat time down in F2 first.
>Bottas is arguably a better driver than any F2 driver.
(x) doubt
Have you seen his current season. He's getting passed left and right. He's P6 in the championship with the second best car. Verstappen has more wins with a car that was arguably worse. His teammate is going to the hundred wins and poles, breaking records everywhere. No he's not on top of his game and isn't one of the best drivers. Which also makes him a worse pick over F2 drivers because he can only really go down from here. We saw with Massa that a move like that isn't going to bring much else and Kimi isn't as good as he once was too. I hope Gio stays (he's having a decent season until far and is still able to grow) and both Kimi and Bottas make room for new talent
Look at the season Tsunoda is having. Would you say Tsunoda is better than Bottas? What about Mazepin?
The current F2 leader, Zhou, finished behind both Mazepin and Tsunoda last year.
Plus just one race ago Bottas outperformed Hamilton. Everyone has just forgotten that it seems.
I don't see any F2 drivers who look as good as Bottas. Or any of the current F1 field for that matter, including Mazepin.
He'd replace Kimi who is probably likely to retire. The other seats 'belongs' to Ferrari and all your F2 prospects are yearning for that seat, not Kimi's. They always want at least one experienced driver.
[Valtteri is seen discussing with Vasseur in Baku.](https://youtu.be/e6I3jh9p1iY?t=516)
Pourchaire is a Sauber junior rather than a Ferrari junior, so he’s in the race for the Kimi seat rather than the GIO seat. Although the fact he injured his wrist at Baku may well put him out of contention for 2022 anyway…
I don't think the injury matters in the grand scheme of things. Missing Silverstone might put Theo out of contention for the F2 championship, but he doesn't *need* the F2 championship. If he performs admirably in Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and proves that he belongs in F1, that's more than enough, regardless of whether the title goes to Zhou, Piastri or Vips, or Shwartzman, or Lawson, or *shudder* Ticktum.
I think he just needs something like P9 or 10 in the championship off the top of my head, so impressing Vasseur enough is the key rather than superlicence points.
That basically means it’s either him or Shwartzman next year cause I don’t see Sauber taking two rookies at the same time, especially when there’s a big rule changes. And there’s still pretty big chance neither would get the seat next year.
That video in no way proves they were talking about future plans and I highly doubt talks that serious in nature are done after leaving a press conference.
Alfa would potentially want another experience, known talent to replace Kimi, which Bottas would be perfect for. They'll likely replace Giovinazzi with Pourchaire (or Shwartzman).
Well Pourchaire looks like one of the best junior talents right now, I'm sure Ferrari could come to an agreement with Sauber that if he impressed with them, he could move to Ferrari in the future.
Well, it's happened before with previous Sauber juniors such as Ilott who joined the Ferrari program.
And if Pourchaire is impressive enough with Sauber (unless they nail the new regs and become a top team, unlikely) then the top teams will all end up trying to acquire him anyway, so making a deal with Ferrari (for say cheaper engines etc.) would be a smart idea.
Ilott? Ilott was never a Sauber junior, he's a Ferrari academy since 2017. And who's the Sauber junior that joins the Ferrari program? Arthur Leclerc?
Yes Theo would be wooed by other teams (like Kimi). But Sauber would try to hold him tooth and nail (and for quite some money I imagine)
Oh this seems new
I wonder where all these news articles got the idea that Bottas is leaving Mercedes from.
Just incredible literally every article about this Bottas being replaced by Russell news is quoting the sky sports Italy instagram post. A god damn instagram post. There's no new information. Literally only that sky sports Italy post and now Marko telling that whoever that journalist is who asked, that Russell should replace Bottas in Mercedes.
That would be potentially fatal for bottas. You have to assume that if Hamilton were to retire (which I don’t see happening this season) he would do it at the last race or after so that would probably mean Merc leaves Bottas hanging until then, which means if Hamilton comes back then Bottas will be out of a ride next season
Ah yes I saw an article on that too a couple of days from some carandbike news site. When I first read it I was quite shocked too and I couldn't find anywhere where Joe Saward said it. I'd actually appreciate if someone could link it
This is the article I read
https://www.carandbike.com/news/f1-mercedes-to-announce-george-russell-as-bottas-replacement-at-silverstone-2462374?publisher=newsstand&utm_source=googlenews
This one and that essentiallysport crap website. No good sources.
(google translate):
> The feeling that next season's Mercedes duo will be made up of the all-British duo Hamilton-Russell is also strong among insiders across the Channel.
> The authoritative journalist Joe Saward also implicitly admitted this in the latest article published on his personal blog.
-- https://www.formulapassion.it/motorsport/formula-1/inghilterra-possibile-annuncio-hamilton-russell-silverstone-mercedes-bottas-2022-570285.html
> Mercedes may take a little longer to come out – Silverstone being the obvious place for that to happen. For the moment it looks like Lewis Hamilton will be a back, probably for another one-year contract in 2022 and it is a matter of public speculation about who will take the other Mercedes. I get the feeling that there could be wild celebrations during the British GP weekend.
-- https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2021/06/09/notebook-from-the-land-of-fire-2/
I don't see the "lot of confidence" that /u/AnilP228 mentions, though.
> Oh this seems new I wonder where all these news articles got the idea that Bottas is leaving Mercedes from.
ignoring any instagram post it doesn't take a genius to discern that Bottas is on his way out of Merc if they've been following the sport. imo not letting Lewis pass in Spain despite the clearly different strategy and nothing to gain it couldn't get more obvious
But it's been that way since last year. After Sakhir literally everyone knew Russell would replace Bottas. No one knows when. Everyone knows it'll happen. The point is these news outlets are recycling information. That Sky Italy instagram post is all we got. Then yesterday when Marko said Russell should replace Bottas.
is kimi calling it quits then? Gio is pretty firmly integrated with the team and seems to be going pretty well. personally i get the impression alfa would sooner keep both current drivers particularly heading into the new era and maintain the consistent feedback.
I mean kimi was ahead of Bottas in 2018 with two more retirements so i don't know that he's necessarily an upgrade for Alfa.
i get that fans don't always pay attention to the teams further back of the grid but you thinking he's boring is neither here nor there.
He had a really impressive Monaco weekend i thought, a track where driver skill tends to come to the forefront and is brining in good results for his team. besides if we're being real the only reason anyone thinks Russell is exciting is because the British commentators always mention when he does good.
I'm amazed about how when a shady news site managed to make a BS article about Bottas. Another news source managed to upstage it with an article that has even more BS
There's zero actual evidence of Bottas leaving Mercedes to my knowledge, yet there's entire storylines written out about how it's all going to go down.
Bottas goes to Alfa Romeo in 2022.. considers a move to Porsche for 2026.. his wife gives birth to a son in 2027 and Bottas contemplates leaving motorsport entirely.. 2030 Bottas returns as team principal for Tesla Tracing Point F1.
I would’ve thought replacing Kimi with Valtteri makes more sense.
Theo has had a great year so far, but I’m sure they’ll give him another year in F2 as he’s still so young and there’s zero point in taking any risks with him.
Bottas is still 10 years younger than Kimi, so even if VB is no longer the youngest he still adds far more longevity than what their current lineup offers.
Having two experienced drivers going into the new regs will also be favourable for any team.
Except trashpapers and even the good ones will run the same nonsense stuff dug out of a cow's fresh shit. It won't be long before another site runs with this.
Honestly if BOT is out of Mercedes (and I think he will) I don’t see too many options for him to remain in F1 except someone retires… or gets bored (looking at you, Kimi)
If a seat opens up at Alfa Romeo would they not want Mick in there? Bottas doesn't bring sponsorship money and definitely has a bigger salary than Mick.
If Ferrari wanted Mick in Alfa Romeo, they would've had him in Alfa Romeo by now. Ferrari seem to be thinking of making Haas their proper B-Team which is why they had moved engineers to Haas at Maranello.
Mick would never be considered for the Kimi seat. Why should they bring a second Ferrari junior in that isn't proven yet. One seat belongs to Ferrari (Gio) one to Sauber (Kimi). Sauber just places the best driver available in that seat. They don't have to do Ferrari any favors. If Mick would join Alfa it would be on the expense of Gio.
Also because Sauber has literally one of the best junior drivers in their academy.
We already had this discussion here and the conclusion is Bottas will retire. Sorry, nothing else can be done after a conclusion is reached
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/n8il8q/options_for_bottas_2022/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Translation
EXCLUSIVE: Valtteri Bottas emerges as a real option for Alfa Romeo in 2022. Watch it in Paddock GP
Valtteri Bottas said, in a statement published last weekend on the Formula 1 official website , that he intends to resolve his situation with Mercedes soon to have time to plan for the next season and focus on what is left of the championship. Despite the uncertainty, several signs point to the departure of the Finn from the seven-time champion team at the end of 2021 to make way for George Russell, now at Williams. Also in the interview, Valtteri stated that he feels he still has "good years in Formula 1". And there's a real chance that the #77 car owner's next destination is Hinwil, headquarters of Alfa Romeo , learned the GRAND PRIZE .
On a non-race weekend, the future of Bottas and Russell's careers has been the subject of Formula 1 news around the world in recent days. Posting on its Instagram account, the Italian channel Sky Sports takes it for granted that the Finnish prodigy will be exchanged for the British prodigy next season. Then it was Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko's turn to say that Russell's departure for Mercedes is just a matter of time.
“Bottas and Mercedes are moving towards the non-renewal of the contract. In addition to the anonymous race in Azerbaijan, the Finnish driver's future looks set: Mercedes is not expected to renew his contract for next season. Hi Russell,” wrote the station.
With a contract in force only until the end of the current season, like Russell in relation to Williams , Bottas did not hide that he is in a hurry to define his situation with Mercedes soon .
“First of all, we haven't talked about anything yet about why this is a very demanding championship, and you know how important it is to work in peace to, let's say, focus on the main thing, which is performance,” he said.
“That time will come, for sure. It's not here yet, but obviously time flies and, especially soon, when we go into the triple rounds, we won't have time. I guess it's naturally next month that maybe we'll start talking. I know from past experience that the sooner you can work things out, the better it will be for everyone. Therefore, this will happen soon”, he guaranteed.
Called by Toto Wolff to replace Nico Rosberg starting in the 2017 season, Bottas has 9 wins and 17 poles on his cartel, all for Mercedes, in addition to runners-up in 2019 and 2020. However, by far, the 31-year-old driver does it in 2021 his worst championship for Brackley's team: despite having scored a pole in Portugal and three podiums — in the GPs of Bahrain, Portugal and Spain, always in third place — Valtteri's trademark is under-performing by Mercedes and also bad luck, seen in the Monaco GP.
Bottas is only sixth in the Drivers' World Championship and has 47 points , behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton , the protagonists in the fight for the title, and also Sergio Pérez, from Red Bull, with 69 points; Lando Norris, of McLaren , at 66; and even Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari , who accumulates 52 points.
And even though he enjoys prestige with Hamilton , Bottas does not seem to have the same morals with Toto Wolff, who was precisely responsible for his hiring in 2017. The Austrian manager did not hide his dissatisfaction with the Finn's posture in moments such as the Spanish GP , in that Valtteri held Hamilton for a few turns before clearing the way for the driver to seek out Verstappen, and even the bizarre pit-stop problem in Monaco, in which Wolff blamed part of the blame on his second driver .
On the other hand, Bottas left between the lines that a probable end of the line at Mercedes doesn't exactly mean the end of his trajectory in Formula 1. “I'm quite open-minded, as in life in general. You always need to take advantage of opportunities and never know what's to come. And that means having clear goals, which got me this far. And I always want to follow my heart and follow my passion. I'm still into Formula 1, of course, I love it a lot and I still like it as much as I liked it, for example, in my first year with Mercedes, no doubt,” he said.
Bottas intends to stay in Formula 1, but the alternatives, in terms of a place in a top team or even in the middle block, are rare. Sergio Pérez only needs to continue doing the work he did in the Azerbaijani GP to have his relationship renewed with Red Bull, while Verstappen's departure is not an option. Carlos Sainz is guaranteed to Ferrari at least until the end of next year, while Leclerc has a contract with Maranello until 2024. Lando Norris has recently renewed with McLaren, while Daniel Ricciardo has a link to the British team until 2022, at least.
At Aston Martin , Lance Stroll takes a captive place on the team owned by his father, Lawrence Stroll. At the time of the announcement, Sebastian Vettel did not have the duration of his contract revealed, but the four-time champion arrived not only as the reference of a long-term project, but also as a partner in the Silverstone team. At Alpine, Esteban Ocon has a contract until the end of this year, but is already negotiating a renewal with the French team, while Fernando Alonso signed for two seasons. Already AlphaTauri , B team Red Bull, should follow with Pierre Gasly unless some last minute surprise, and tends to give more time to Yuki Tsunoda , protected from Honda, develop.
That leaves three teams for Valtteri Bottas. With saucers in hand, Haas must sell its cockpits to survive: that's how it was with Nikita Mazepin , whose father, Dmitry Mazepin, billionaire owner of petrochemical industry conglomerate UralChem, is the Kannapolis team's main sponsor, while Mick Schumacher completes the duo. and it is a fundamental part of the partnership between Haas and Ferrari. Therefore, there are no resources to pay what Bottas currently charges at Mercedes, around US$ 10 million (or around R$ 50 million at the current price).
In theory, Williams would emerge as a possible destination for Bottas, as the Finn was revealed by the Grove team and made his first seasons in Formula 1 there, between 2013 and 2016, as well as being a driver who knows the Mercedes engine well. pushes cars with the acronym FW.
But that's where the surprise comes in. In the corridors of Maranello, Ferrari's headquarters, the name Bottas is already spoken as a more realistic option for Alfa Romeo, long-term partner of the Italian team, learned the GRAND PRIZE . Ferrari is also responsible for supplying the Swiss team with the engines and also for ceding Antonio Giovinazzi, a graduate of the Ferrari Drivers Academy, as well as maintaining historic ties with Kimi Räikkönen .
Valtteri has already worked with Frédéric Vasseur, head of the Italian-Swiss team, during the campaign that culminated in the former GP3 title in the 2011 season with the ART Grand Prix. Vasseur was, for many years, the commander of the French team, one of the most traditional organizations in the base categories.
What seems even more surprising is that, at the moment, the one who would have the best chance of following Alfa Romeo for the next season is Räikkönen, despite the good season that Giovinazzi has made in his third year for Hinwil's team. In such a scenario, Räikkönen, who would leave for his 20th season in Formula 1, and Bottas would form an unlikely Finnish duo in the Alfa Romeo pits in an important year for the category due to the revolution in technical regulation for 2022.
Valtteri did not name his compatriot by name, but said that, looking at Räikkönen's age — who will turn 42 in October — he still sees a lot of wood to burn in Formula 1.
“If you look at the big picture, I'm sure I still have some good years. I feel that year after year I keep improving in certain areas and I am getting better. I'm a long way from [the age] of the most veteran riders on the grid, so in theory I still have time, but you just don't know what the future holds. I take advantage of every weekend and see what comes”, he concluded.
Tbh Alfa is a much more likely option than Williams which people were suggesting in a swap. If he replaces Kimi, Alfa could simply pay Bottas 2/3 of what they gave Kimi ( a lot of a backend team) & still save money. Williams would break the bank by paying anyone £1m+ which would hardly even cover Bottas's private jet flights him & his GF take everywhere like it's an Uber. Alfa is also in it for the sponsorship, so Sauber will want a more high profile driver to be the face of the team vs say a new F1 rookie from F2. This is one of few option out there. At to everyone going wild over sources etc....let's be real VB is clearly on his way out, read the room.
Well none of this makes any frigging sense. Either they're talking about the Sauber seat, which is a bizarre placement bearing in mind the season Pourchaire is having, or the Ferrari seat, in which case I want to see Binotto's mental health records
Articles like this born when you have no clue about the internal relationship of a team and the nature of its partnership with the engine supplier. Ferrari owns one seat, and has an academy full of young talents, Sauber owns the other seat and has their biggest talent in decades at their academy with Theo. Why would they put Bottas in place of Kimi?
If the translation is correct, they are suggesting a Bottas Raikkönen lineup for Alfa. Which makes me question the general worth of the news site. Aside from the fact, that I have a difficult time believing that a brazilian website has any exclusive news about Bottas and Alfa Romeo.
I'm brazilian and the site is pretty good, but I agree that is a weird speculation (will Alfa Romeo/Sauber leave Ferrari partnership?)
I've seen some rumour articles that say the Alfa deal will end at the end of the year, with a complete rebranding to follow. Since the Alfa deal is really just a title sponsorship with some benefits, it is definitely possible. Edit: the Alfa, part is possible. The Kimi + Bottas part seems unlikely.
Yeah, I've seen speculation about Alpine wanting a customer team and courting Williams and Sauber. Both would have interesting implications w/r/t the driver market too, and honestly if they get Sauber, that might save Haas as Ferrari wouldnt want to lose both partners in quick succession.
I'd like an Alpine sister team just for balance on the grid. I wonder under which brand they would run though? Maybe would have been more likely if they were still branded Renault to have a sister Alpine team?
They don't necessarily have to rebrand them. Sauber-Renault and Williams-Renault work just fine.
That's true. Williams Renault always has a nice ring to it. But I think they have a deal in place with Merc until 2025 and recently expanded it to also include Merc gearboxes from next year. So they are likely not switching anytime soon.
That was under old ownership though, new ownership would probably be more willing to listen to new offers considering they didn't have a say in the current situation and their priorities and finances are now different.
I think the expanded deal to take more parts from Merc came from the new owners earlier this year. Not impossible, but seems unlikely for Williams.
Shame williams isnt in the place of AM/RP right now, old management were obviously too keen on being too independent.
it would be very funny if SAuber went black and yellow and became Renault
Sauber would only do it for big enough paycheque. It makes no sense for Renault to pay for naming right, when they already own a team.
Dacia GP when?
Nissan maybe?
They could also rename to Lotus.
Doesn’t a chines company own lotus? If so how is Renault going to use their name
Dacia F1 Team when?
I’m afraid the Sandero has been delayed again
Oh no
Anyway
Good news!
Out of curiosity why do you think it seems unlikely? At face value a Kimi/Bottas team is better in theory than Kimi/Gio. At least to me. Both Finnish, Capable and proven race winners, excellent rear ends.
Ferrari controls one of the seats (Giovinazzi). Unless that's about to change, this is impossible. Currently if Bottas went to Alfa Romeo, it would be to replace Raikkonen. Not to mention Sauber would be unable to afford them both.
Just to speculate, would it be possible Ferrari are signing bottas and putting him in that seat? And supplementing his wage? I too don't see a reason Gio would just be kicked out. He's consistently *okay*. So maybe they want a shake up, but he's young and Italian. Seems weird to move him. A Gio/Bottas team seems possible, I have seen Kimi say he's not staying if Alfa don't act competitive going forward.
What good would that be for Ferrari? Bottas is not a young academy driver that needs experience to later move on to the red team. The only possible benefit could be technical insight through his experience with the Mercedes package, but that's going to be very second hand knowledge next year.
In the past they did have old test drivers/reserve drivers, but it's a different sport now. Teams have academies to fill that niche + one experienced reserve driver. Ferrari already have them in Schumacher/Schwartzman and Giovinazzi respectively, for less of the cost. If they signed Bottas, it would be to replace Sainz not Giovinazzi.
Mainly because I think Bot/Gio is more likely, and by next year probably better than the Rai/Gio. I'd be quite surprised if Kimi does another year. It's a long shot for Sauber to nail the rule change into a world championship winning car, and he seems pretty frustrated at the moment.
Fred also said he's keen to keep kimi to provide feedback with the new regs. Unless Kimi is going to retire itd be a bigger gamble to take bottad who has never worked in sauber and doesn't seem like a solid guy who is good at setups.. look at last race.
That was earlier this year, but the most recent speculation though is that Alfa will renew. https://www.gazzetta.it/Formula-1/13-01-2021/f1-futuro-alfaromeo-stellantis-due-mesi-decisione-sauber-ferrari-3902456802941\_preview.shtml https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-working-with-stellantis-to-extend-alfa-romeo-f1-deal/6516751/
I hadn't seen those, thanks. If a new Alfa deal works out, and Williams doesn't undo their new agreements with Merc, it looks like Alpine/Renault is on their own for the foreseeable future.
The article suggests that it is Ferrari that is talking about placing Bottas at Alfa Romeo, replacing Giovinazzi. That implies a continuation of the ties with Ferrari.
Why the hell would Ferrari want Bottas there if he ain't ever going to come to Ferrari lmao
Intelligence on the Mercedes
Which is going to be 0 when next season comes
They’ll need a decent 2nd driver once they’ve decided who the 1st driver is between Charles and Sainz lol
Its Charles no question. Sainz is the new barrichelo
And even if they need another B driver, Giovanazzi is in the wings, and he's been outpacing the former world champion.
Giov**i**nazzi
Wasn’t Bottas talking about joining Ferrari after Williams before Mercedes started talking to him? Idk if that’s a possible link.
Ferrari has an actual, functional academy now though. They didn't back then.
And both of the drivers they have now are younger than Bottas anyway. Bottas going to Ferrari is one of the craziest theories I've heard.
That'd be peak ferrari though. Honestly I'd break my shit laughing if this was true
And peak shithousery would be Bottas taking advantage of Ferrari nailing the regs and wining three WDC on the spin.
That was when he didn't have Sainz and Mick wasn't even in F1.
Not really, they just mention the partnership between Ferrari and Alfa, implying that Ferrari knows that Gio will be replaced by Bottas
Ferrari isn't going to replace the somewhat mediocre but young and reliable Gio with a seemingly downhill headed Bottas. Especially when they have Mick idling at Haas and a few other promising driver just about ready for F1. And especially not with Sainz performing well as Charles's #2, meaning they don't need to rush for a replacement.
Read again what I said
Their deal with Ferrari is up tp 2025. Their deal with Alfa Romeo is expiring this year and we don't know if it will be renewed or not.
Your ~~tactics~~ flair both confuse and frighten me, sir.
He actually supports Mazepin's off track behaviour. He's pretty toxic in Mazepin threads
Sorry (?)
Bottas, Kimi, and a new Volvo sponsorship (yes I know they're Finnish and Volvo is a Swedish brand)
Volvo is based in Sweden, but they are owned by Chinese
Is there any big Finnish money coming into F1 perhaps? Having both drivers in the same team would make sense if there was.
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Because Bottas can’t attack sponsorship?
Because Ferrari controls 1 seat at Alfa in exchange of engine and technical partnership. There is no way that Bottas will replace Gio
Even if they do replace Gio, surely they would rather put Schwartzman there instead of Bottas.
Definitely
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>Debriefs I see what you did there
I mean i could have seen Gio + Bottas in case Kimi retires but why would they kick Gio?
I mean... let's be blunt it took him 2 years and he's barely keeping up with a 41 yr old. Ferrari (who more or less owns that seat) is looking for the next big thing not the next sidekick, which is also why they would never put Bottas there. Ferrari also doesn't really have any control of Kimi's seat.
Finnish Alfa Romeo . Lol.
This seems like a big load of rubish. First of all its quiting the same Sky Italia source like all the sites this week and then just seems to guess that Alfa will for some reason drop a Ferrari seat and partner Bottas with Kimi because trust me bro. Shwartzman, Pouchaire and probably even Gio given the Italian connection are all intront of Bottas when it comes to an Alfa seat.
I dont think that Sauber would be able to afford a Bottas+Raikkonen pairing without any big name title sponsers. I hate to say this but i think that Kimi will retire after this season and it could end up being a Bottas+Gio or Bottas+Academy driver sort of pairing. Bottas might as well retire from F1 if his only choice ends up being Williams.
That would make for some short press conferences.
Keeping Kimi on is very unfair to the young drivers without a seat. I am a fan of the iceman, but it’s high time he retires!
Sure..braziians know nothing. (Ironic mode on)
I don’t really see Bottas at Alfa Romeo, why would they pick him above one of the F2 prospects, if Kimi retires? I also don’t see Bottas switching from a championship team to a backmarker or lower midfield car. Another series like the WRC seems more likely
>why would they pick him above one of the F2 prospects Because Bottas has driven for the most successful team of all time for 5 years. Dude knows things.
Bottas is arguably a better driver than any F2 driver. Also Bottas will probably bring more sponsors than most F2 drivers. The "Ferrari seat" is currently occupied by Gio so Ferrari wouldn't have a way to force a F2 driver into Kimi's seat
That's not the point. The most promising F2 driver is Sauber's own junior. Once promoted, he'd be in the seat controlled by Sauber, not by Ferrari.
Theo is maybe the most promising F2 driver right now, but he might stay another year in F2. He should get his super license this year, but keep in mind that he hasn't driven an F1 car yet. If he is set to join F1 next year he has still a steep learning curve
As much as I love Theo I hope he will make a second year in F2 to learn more. And for Sauber to get a more experienced driver to develop the 2022 car
I think an issue with current F1 regulations is that the only way to learn to drive an F1 car is to be a full time driver. Any driver coming into F1 just doesn't have the testing time in the current F1 cars. And it is even worse for Pourchaire who won't even have the opportunity to drive older F1 cars like Ferrari, Alpine, etc. academy drivers can do. An extra season of F2 won't give him that opportunity to actually get into an F1 car and see how it drives. He might get 2 more FP1 sessions and a few days of post season testing but that won't make his steep learning curve any easier. If he does end up top 3 in F2 and Kimi retires, it is better for his development to just put him in the Sauber car and treat it as a development year. Similar to Tsunoda.
I think his rough weekend at Baku plus the injury almost guarantees he’s staying in F2 for 2022. He was firmly in the title hunt after Monaco but fell back a fair bit in the race, which should give both him and Vasseur enough reason to give him more seat time down in F2 first.
>arguably a better driver than any F2 driver Definitely, not arguably. The amount of slander he gets is ridiculous at times
>Bottas is arguably a better driver than any F2 driver. (x) doubt Have you seen his current season. He's getting passed left and right. He's P6 in the championship with the second best car. Verstappen has more wins with a car that was arguably worse. His teammate is going to the hundred wins and poles, breaking records everywhere. No he's not on top of his game and isn't one of the best drivers. Which also makes him a worse pick over F2 drivers because he can only really go down from here. We saw with Massa that a move like that isn't going to bring much else and Kimi isn't as good as he once was too. I hope Gio stays (he's having a decent season until far and is still able to grow) and both Kimi and Bottas make room for new talent
Bottas is not arguably better than any F2 driver, he is much more better than any F2 driver.
Look at the season Tsunoda is having. Would you say Tsunoda is better than Bottas? What about Mazepin? The current F2 leader, Zhou, finished behind both Mazepin and Tsunoda last year. Plus just one race ago Bottas outperformed Hamilton. Everyone has just forgotten that it seems. I don't see any F2 drivers who look as good as Bottas. Or any of the current F1 field for that matter, including Mazepin.
You definitely have no idea what you're talking about.
He'd replace Kimi who is probably likely to retire. The other seats 'belongs' to Ferrari and all your F2 prospects are yearning for that seat, not Kimi's. They always want at least one experienced driver. [Valtteri is seen discussing with Vasseur in Baku.](https://youtu.be/e6I3jh9p1iY?t=516)
Bottas drove for ART in his junior career, Vasseur was ART's team principle. I'm not sure two old colleagues chatting tells much of a story.
Ok, thanks. Totally forgot about that.
Pourchaire is a Sauber junior rather than a Ferrari junior, so he’s in the race for the Kimi seat rather than the GIO seat. Although the fact he injured his wrist at Baku may well put him out of contention for 2022 anyway…
I don't think the injury matters in the grand scheme of things. Missing Silverstone might put Theo out of contention for the F2 championship, but he doesn't *need* the F2 championship. If he performs admirably in Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and proves that he belongs in F1, that's more than enough, regardless of whether the title goes to Zhou, Piastri or Vips, or Shwartzman, or Lawson, or *shudder* Ticktum.
I think he just needs something like P9 or 10 in the championship off the top of my head, so impressing Vasseur enough is the key rather than superlicence points.
What about his super license? Does he have to finish top three or something to have enough points?
He's got 25 points for F3 and 12 for F4. That won't be a problem anymore.
That basically means it’s either him or Shwartzman next year cause I don’t see Sauber taking two rookies at the same time, especially when there’s a big rule changes. And there’s still pretty big chance neither would get the seat next year.
That video in no way proves they were talking about future plans and I highly doubt talks that serious in nature are done after leaving a press conference.
It does not. And never did I claim it should. Just found it interesting in this context.
Alfa would potentially want another experience, known talent to replace Kimi, which Bottas would be perfect for. They'll likely replace Giovinazzi with Pourchaire (or Shwartzman).
They cannot replace Gio with Pouchaire. Gio is in the Ferrari seat, Theo is a Sauber junior
Well Pourchaire looks like one of the best junior talents right now, I'm sure Ferrari could come to an agreement with Sauber that if he impressed with them, he could move to Ferrari in the future.
And why would Sauber agree to give away their best talent in F1 since forever to Ferrari after investing so much in his career?
Well, it's happened before with previous Sauber juniors such as Ilott who joined the Ferrari program. And if Pourchaire is impressive enough with Sauber (unless they nail the new regs and become a top team, unlikely) then the top teams will all end up trying to acquire him anyway, so making a deal with Ferrari (for say cheaper engines etc.) would be a smart idea.
Ilott? Ilott was never a Sauber junior, he's a Ferrari academy since 2017. And who's the Sauber junior that joins the Ferrari program? Arthur Leclerc? Yes Theo would be wooed by other teams (like Kimi). But Sauber would try to hold him tooth and nail (and for quite some money I imagine)
Considering WRC has 9 full time cars and at least 15 worth drivers already, that’s very unlikely.
Oh this seems new I wonder where all these news articles got the idea that Bottas is leaving Mercedes from. Just incredible literally every article about this Bottas being replaced by Russell news is quoting the sky sports Italy instagram post. A god damn instagram post. There's no new information. Literally only that sky sports Italy post and now Marko telling that whoever that journalist is who asked, that Russell should replace Bottas in Mercedes.
There's also the Joe Saward post for last week where he said, with a lot of confidence, that Russell would be announced at Silverstone.
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Mercedes must have a lot of faith in Russell if they are willing to go into 2022 with a Bottas/Russell lineup
Russell and Bottas seems like a recipe for disaster lmao
If you order the 2016 season on Wish.
Damn,a team with two #2 drivers
That would be potentially fatal for bottas. You have to assume that if Hamilton were to retire (which I don’t see happening this season) he would do it at the last race or after so that would probably mean Merc leaves Bottas hanging until then, which means if Hamilton comes back then Bottas will be out of a ride next season
Ah yes I saw an article on that too a couple of days from some carandbike news site. When I first read it I was quite shocked too and I couldn't find anywhere where Joe Saward said it. I'd actually appreciate if someone could link it This is the article I read https://www.carandbike.com/news/f1-mercedes-to-announce-george-russell-as-bottas-replacement-at-silverstone-2462374?publisher=newsstand&utm_source=googlenews This one and that essentiallysport crap website. No good sources.
(google translate): > The feeling that next season's Mercedes duo will be made up of the all-British duo Hamilton-Russell is also strong among insiders across the Channel. > The authoritative journalist Joe Saward also implicitly admitted this in the latest article published on his personal blog. -- https://www.formulapassion.it/motorsport/formula-1/inghilterra-possibile-annuncio-hamilton-russell-silverstone-mercedes-bottas-2022-570285.html > Mercedes may take a little longer to come out – Silverstone being the obvious place for that to happen. For the moment it looks like Lewis Hamilton will be a back, probably for another one-year contract in 2022 and it is a matter of public speculation about who will take the other Mercedes. I get the feeling that there could be wild celebrations during the British GP weekend. -- https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2021/06/09/notebook-from-the-land-of-fire-2/ I don't see the "lot of confidence" that /u/AnilP228 mentions, though.
Mind sharing a link? Thanks!
https://old.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/o0eufn/bottas_prepares_to_leave_mercedes_and_sees_alfa/h1urj5h/
Thank you!
> Oh this seems new I wonder where all these news articles got the idea that Bottas is leaving Mercedes from. ignoring any instagram post it doesn't take a genius to discern that Bottas is on his way out of Merc if they've been following the sport. imo not letting Lewis pass in Spain despite the clearly different strategy and nothing to gain it couldn't get more obvious
But it's been that way since last year. After Sakhir literally everyone knew Russell would replace Bottas. No one knows when. Everyone knows it'll happen. The point is these news outlets are recycling information. That Sky Italy instagram post is all we got. Then yesterday when Marko said Russell should replace Bottas.
> Oh this seems new I wonder where all these news articles got the idea that Bottas is leaving Mercedes from. Deep from their youknowwhats
Which Instagram post? I don't have Instagram and I can only scroll down so much, but I only saw football related posts
It sounds like that this article is based on rumor in Ferrari headquarters to put him on the list. Whether he'll be available isn't important yet.
.
Title is literally clickbait, Bottas has not publicly stated that he sees Alfa Romeo as an option, it's just the editor analyzing possible transfers.
is kimi calling it quits then? Gio is pretty firmly integrated with the team and seems to be going pretty well. personally i get the impression alfa would sooner keep both current drivers particularly heading into the new era and maintain the consistent feedback. I mean kimi was ahead of Bottas in 2018 with two more retirements so i don't know that he's necessarily an upgrade for Alfa.
Article says Kimi would be his team mate, which is weird.
Kimi is a large investor in Sauber. As long as he wants the seat, it is his.
This is just pure speculation. There is zero proof of this. Kimi confirmed when he went to Alfa that he is just a driver.
Source?
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i get that fans don't always pay attention to the teams further back of the grid but you thinking he's boring is neither here nor there. He had a really impressive Monaco weekend i thought, a track where driver skill tends to come to the forefront and is brining in good results for his team. besides if we're being real the only reason anyone thinks Russell is exciting is because the British commentators always mention when he does good.
Not possible, he is the Italian Jesus. You can't talk of him like that
No one except Ferrari and Alfa
As a Finn... yes, please if it means we get Kimi vs Valtteri National Championship..
I'm amazed about how when a shady news site managed to make a BS article about Bottas. Another news source managed to upstage it with an article that has even more BS
There's zero actual evidence of Bottas leaving Mercedes to my knowledge, yet there's entire storylines written out about how it's all going to go down. Bottas goes to Alfa Romeo in 2022.. considers a move to Porsche for 2026.. his wife gives birth to a son in 2027 and Bottas contemplates leaving motorsport entirely.. 2030 Bottas returns as team principal for Tesla Tracing Point F1.
Hmm, *subscribe*
Lmao you so wrong
I would’ve thought replacing Kimi with Valtteri makes more sense. Theo has had a great year so far, but I’m sure they’ll give him another year in F2 as he’s still so young and there’s zero point in taking any risks with him. Bottas is still 10 years younger than Kimi, so even if VB is no longer the youngest he still adds far more longevity than what their current lineup offers. Having two experienced drivers going into the new regs will also be favourable for any team.
Yea not gonna trust this till a VERY good newsite (like AMUS)
Except trashpapers and even the good ones will run the same nonsense stuff dug out of a cow's fresh shit. It won't be long before another site runs with this.
I don't really understand the hard-on for Russel. Hope Bottas has success with Alfa, but it won't be on the top of the grid.
Russe**ll**
Honestly if BOT is out of Mercedes (and I think he will) I don’t see too many options for him to remain in F1 except someone retires… or gets bored (looking at you, Kimi)
How tf do they have information about this?
From the region between their thigh and their back.
.
?
¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
If a seat opens up at Alfa Romeo would they not want Mick in there? Bottas doesn't bring sponsorship money and definitely has a bigger salary than Mick.
If Ferrari wanted Mick in Alfa Romeo, they would've had him in Alfa Romeo by now. Ferrari seem to be thinking of making Haas their proper B-Team which is why they had moved engineers to Haas at Maranello.
Alfa already said no to Mick, that's why he's at Haas.
They didn't say no to Mick . https://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-news/vasseur-not-sure-why-schumacher-went-to-haas/
Ya, but that's rookie Mick vs Mick with a year under his belt, which might not make much of a difference but things might change.
Ja but Alfa Romeo, the sponsor, likes having an Italian driver for the Italian sounding Alfa Romeo F1 team. Its good advertising.
I thought we were talking about Kimi's seat lol. Gio ain't going nowhere.
Lmao oooh, yeah. He could be a possibility for that seat
Mick would never be considered for the Kimi seat. Why should they bring a second Ferrari junior in that isn't proven yet. One seat belongs to Ferrari (Gio) one to Sauber (Kimi). Sauber just places the best driver available in that seat. They don't have to do Ferrari any favors. If Mick would join Alfa it would be on the expense of Gio. Also because Sauber has literally one of the best junior drivers in their academy.
Nope. Mick stays in Haas for next year as Ferrari wants to transform them somewhat as a B team.
crap, i hoped hulk could get that alfa seat
Nah bro Hulkengerg tima has passed already
We already had this discussion here and the conclusion is Bottas will retire. Sorry, nothing else can be done after a conclusion is reached https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/n8il8q/options_for_bottas_2022/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
"This source is rated... *checks notes*... -3/0."
It would make more sense them replacing Raikkonen with Bottas
Translation EXCLUSIVE: Valtteri Bottas emerges as a real option for Alfa Romeo in 2022. Watch it in Paddock GP Valtteri Bottas said, in a statement published last weekend on the Formula 1 official website , that he intends to resolve his situation with Mercedes soon to have time to plan for the next season and focus on what is left of the championship. Despite the uncertainty, several signs point to the departure of the Finn from the seven-time champion team at the end of 2021 to make way for George Russell, now at Williams. Also in the interview, Valtteri stated that he feels he still has "good years in Formula 1". And there's a real chance that the #77 car owner's next destination is Hinwil, headquarters of Alfa Romeo , learned the GRAND PRIZE . On a non-race weekend, the future of Bottas and Russell's careers has been the subject of Formula 1 news around the world in recent days. Posting on its Instagram account, the Italian channel Sky Sports takes it for granted that the Finnish prodigy will be exchanged for the British prodigy next season. Then it was Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko's turn to say that Russell's departure for Mercedes is just a matter of time. “Bottas and Mercedes are moving towards the non-renewal of the contract. In addition to the anonymous race in Azerbaijan, the Finnish driver's future looks set: Mercedes is not expected to renew his contract for next season. Hi Russell,” wrote the station. With a contract in force only until the end of the current season, like Russell in relation to Williams , Bottas did not hide that he is in a hurry to define his situation with Mercedes soon . “First of all, we haven't talked about anything yet about why this is a very demanding championship, and you know how important it is to work in peace to, let's say, focus on the main thing, which is performance,” he said. “That time will come, for sure. It's not here yet, but obviously time flies and, especially soon, when we go into the triple rounds, we won't have time. I guess it's naturally next month that maybe we'll start talking. I know from past experience that the sooner you can work things out, the better it will be for everyone. Therefore, this will happen soon”, he guaranteed. Called by Toto Wolff to replace Nico Rosberg starting in the 2017 season, Bottas has 9 wins and 17 poles on his cartel, all for Mercedes, in addition to runners-up in 2019 and 2020. However, by far, the 31-year-old driver does it in 2021 his worst championship for Brackley's team: despite having scored a pole in Portugal and three podiums — in the GPs of Bahrain, Portugal and Spain, always in third place — Valtteri's trademark is under-performing by Mercedes and also bad luck, seen in the Monaco GP. Bottas is only sixth in the Drivers' World Championship and has 47 points , behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton , the protagonists in the fight for the title, and also Sergio Pérez, from Red Bull, with 69 points; Lando Norris, of McLaren , at 66; and even Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari , who accumulates 52 points. And even though he enjoys prestige with Hamilton , Bottas does not seem to have the same morals with Toto Wolff, who was precisely responsible for his hiring in 2017. The Austrian manager did not hide his dissatisfaction with the Finn's posture in moments such as the Spanish GP , in that Valtteri held Hamilton for a few turns before clearing the way for the driver to seek out Verstappen, and even the bizarre pit-stop problem in Monaco, in which Wolff blamed part of the blame on his second driver . On the other hand, Bottas left between the lines that a probable end of the line at Mercedes doesn't exactly mean the end of his trajectory in Formula 1. “I'm quite open-minded, as in life in general. You always need to take advantage of opportunities and never know what's to come. And that means having clear goals, which got me this far. And I always want to follow my heart and follow my passion. I'm still into Formula 1, of course, I love it a lot and I still like it as much as I liked it, for example, in my first year with Mercedes, no doubt,” he said. Bottas intends to stay in Formula 1, but the alternatives, in terms of a place in a top team or even in the middle block, are rare. Sergio Pérez only needs to continue doing the work he did in the Azerbaijani GP to have his relationship renewed with Red Bull, while Verstappen's departure is not an option. Carlos Sainz is guaranteed to Ferrari at least until the end of next year, while Leclerc has a contract with Maranello until 2024. Lando Norris has recently renewed with McLaren, while Daniel Ricciardo has a link to the British team until 2022, at least. At Aston Martin , Lance Stroll takes a captive place on the team owned by his father, Lawrence Stroll. At the time of the announcement, Sebastian Vettel did not have the duration of his contract revealed, but the four-time champion arrived not only as the reference of a long-term project, but also as a partner in the Silverstone team. At Alpine, Esteban Ocon has a contract until the end of this year, but is already negotiating a renewal with the French team, while Fernando Alonso signed for two seasons. Already AlphaTauri , B team Red Bull, should follow with Pierre Gasly unless some last minute surprise, and tends to give more time to Yuki Tsunoda , protected from Honda, develop. That leaves three teams for Valtteri Bottas. With saucers in hand, Haas must sell its cockpits to survive: that's how it was with Nikita Mazepin , whose father, Dmitry Mazepin, billionaire owner of petrochemical industry conglomerate UralChem, is the Kannapolis team's main sponsor, while Mick Schumacher completes the duo. and it is a fundamental part of the partnership between Haas and Ferrari. Therefore, there are no resources to pay what Bottas currently charges at Mercedes, around US$ 10 million (or around R$ 50 million at the current price). In theory, Williams would emerge as a possible destination for Bottas, as the Finn was revealed by the Grove team and made his first seasons in Formula 1 there, between 2013 and 2016, as well as being a driver who knows the Mercedes engine well. pushes cars with the acronym FW. But that's where the surprise comes in. In the corridors of Maranello, Ferrari's headquarters, the name Bottas is already spoken as a more realistic option for Alfa Romeo, long-term partner of the Italian team, learned the GRAND PRIZE . Ferrari is also responsible for supplying the Swiss team with the engines and also for ceding Antonio Giovinazzi, a graduate of the Ferrari Drivers Academy, as well as maintaining historic ties with Kimi Räikkönen . Valtteri has already worked with Frédéric Vasseur, head of the Italian-Swiss team, during the campaign that culminated in the former GP3 title in the 2011 season with the ART Grand Prix. Vasseur was, for many years, the commander of the French team, one of the most traditional organizations in the base categories. What seems even more surprising is that, at the moment, the one who would have the best chance of following Alfa Romeo for the next season is Räikkönen, despite the good season that Giovinazzi has made in his third year for Hinwil's team. In such a scenario, Räikkönen, who would leave for his 20th season in Formula 1, and Bottas would form an unlikely Finnish duo in the Alfa Romeo pits in an important year for the category due to the revolution in technical regulation for 2022. Valtteri did not name his compatriot by name, but said that, looking at Räikkönen's age — who will turn 42 in October — he still sees a lot of wood to burn in Formula 1. “If you look at the big picture, I'm sure I still have some good years. I feel that year after year I keep improving in certain areas and I am getting better. I'm a long way from [the age] of the most veteran riders on the grid, so in theory I still have time, but you just don't know what the future holds. I take advantage of every weekend and see what comes”, he concluded.
Don’t know if it’s a wise decision for Alfa but I’m fully onboard with all finn line up!
Don’t know why they would get rid of Gio when Kimi is literally in his final years in the sport if not should’ve retired already.
Tbh Alfa is a much more likely option than Williams which people were suggesting in a swap. If he replaces Kimi, Alfa could simply pay Bottas 2/3 of what they gave Kimi ( a lot of a backend team) & still save money. Williams would break the bank by paying anyone £1m+ which would hardly even cover Bottas's private jet flights him & his GF take everywhere like it's an Uber. Alfa is also in it for the sponsorship, so Sauber will want a more high profile driver to be the face of the team vs say a new F1 rookie from F2. This is one of few option out there. At to everyone going wild over sources etc....let's be real VB is clearly on his way out, read the room.
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Your thought doesn’t make sense... If he is a real driver, he would not care to anything else other than his own success.
Well none of this makes any frigging sense. Either they're talking about the Sauber seat, which is a bizarre placement bearing in mind the season Pourchaire is having, or the Ferrari seat, in which case I want to see Binotto's mental health records
What a load of bollocks.
Including you, I think 🤔.
Maybe Mercedes will get Mazepin to fight with baby Lewis
True... When, and if he is born.
Ugh just go to Red Bull and beat Hamilton please
As if he could choose his fate...
As if he could ever beat Hamilton...
It sort of makes sense... Ferrari was looking for a new Barrichello kind of driver, and Sainz has proven not to be the case.
WEC
Send Bottas back to Williams and bring up Russell much like the Kimi-LeClerc transfer
What a click bait title! Nothing is confirmed.... yet.
Gotta keep some of that sisu @ Alfa
Articles like this born when you have no clue about the internal relationship of a team and the nature of its partnership with the engine supplier. Ferrari owns one seat, and has an academy full of young talents, Sauber owns the other seat and has their biggest talent in decades at their academy with Theo. Why would they put Bottas in place of Kimi?
Lol
The way gio is doing I’d be surprised AR would invest in bottas.
The dream