Formula 1: Valtteri Bottas has 'exciting conversations' for 2025 seat

Valtteri Bottas's Sauber seat is one of the two seats still without a confirmed driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season, and the 35-year-old Finnish driver, the fourth winningest active driver on the grid with 10 career Grand Prix victories, is still very much a candidate to return to the team for a fourth season in 2025.

The team have already confirmed that Nico Hulkenberg is set to join the team from Haas, presumably to spearhead the full transition to Audi in 2026 as the new rules and regulations go into effect.

Hulkenberg is set to replace Zhou Guanyu, and the team could opt to pair him with a youngster such as Franco Colapinto or Gabriel Bortoleto or go with two veterans to lead the organizations into the Audi era. Or, perhaps they could sign Bottas to a one-year deal and reassess the situation again just before the Audi takeover occurs.

Bottas has confirmed that he has had many conversations regarding possibilities for the 2025 season, presumably including several outside of Formula 1.

"I am still working on my plans for 2025," Bottas told Beyond the Flag. "I’ve had a lot of really great, exciting conversations. But that is really all I can say at the moment."

IndyCar is said to be among the possibilities for Bottas if he is unable to secure a Sauber return, but the seats on the newly capped 27-car IndyCar grid are slowly but surely filling up as well.

In an earlier interview, Bottas told us that he does plan to be back behind the wheel next year.

"Formula 1 is obviously still priority number one, but I'll always be racing something – don't worry about that!”

"The important thing right now is to continue to improve at each race," Bottas said of Sauber's performance as they continue to sit in 10th (last) place in the constructor standings with no points.

"Last year, we were able to get into the points in Qatar, so the goal would be to also have similar success there again this year. The team have been working incredibly hard, so getting into the points for them is the goal to thank them for all of their hard work."

He also discussed Formula 1's return to Las Vegas, which is scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving.

"Last year during Vegas, I was actually ill, so I didn’t get to enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked to," he admitted. "It was definitely unique. This year, I’m hoping I get to experience it at my full capacity.

Even if Bottas returns to Sauber next year, it would not be alongside Zhou. He has relished the opportunity to work with the 25-year-old Chinese driver since his Formula 1 debut in 2022, taking on a veteran/mentorship type role during those three seasons.

"It’s been really great working with Zhou these past three seasons," Bottas said. "I’ve seen him grow a lot both as an individual and as a driver. I really value the conversations we’ve been able to have, and the input he is able to provide."

He also tied that relationship to his and Sauber's partnership with WhistlePig Whiskey, which he spoke a little bit more about in a separate article.

"It is always good to have different perspectives on things," Bottas said. "We’re two different people from different parts of the world, but racing has brought us together and I’m very thankful for his friendship.

"And he actually partnered with WhistlePig last year for the limited-edition wind-tunnel trialed PiggyBack Rye. So you could say I’ve followed in his footsteps there!"