Bottas leading race for second Sauber F1 seat

Valtteri Bottas is leading the race to partner Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber in Formula 1 next year.

The 35-year-old, who surprised many by shooting to the top five in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix, is understood to be the number one target for Sauber for the final year of the current rules cycle before Audi takes over the team in 2026.

The news was first revealed by Autosport's Italian sister edition, which reported that Bottas has been offered a one-year deal to stay at the team, although the Finnish driver is understood to be seeking a one-plus-one deal.

Audi had hoped to have persuaded Carlos Sainz to join the team, only for the Spanish driver to sign for Williams instead, and it is keen to only offer a one-year deal in order to pick its line-up for the following season when it enters F1.

Should it change its mind, then it is believed it could turn its attention to McLaren youngster Gabriel Bortoleto, who won the Formula 3 championship last year.

Bottas explained ahead of the Italian GP how Sauber has been unable to find any form this season, but said he has full trust in the team's new chief operating officer and chief technical officer Mattia Binotto.

"We haven't found big enough steps, that obviously comes a lot from the development at the factory," said Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

"Some other teams made bigger steps. I think Alpine was a good example. We were ahead of them in the beginning of the year, but now they are clearly ahead.

"We haven't found enough lap time. I think the base car that we started the season wasn't that far off.

"But from the beginning to now, we just haven't made big enough steps. I think that's the biggest issue.

"I don't want to really say anything bad about the previous leaders, but I feel like a bit of reshaping and a bit of change probably is good for the long term.

"I put full trust in Mattia. He knows how to lead a team and I think he's learned a lot in the last weeks what the team needs.

"Now it's actually the first time he'll be on track observing how we operate, so I'm sure he'll pick up even more.

"This season we're not expecting any miracles. I think what Mattia's presence can do is to help next year."

Adding he was in conversation with Binotto over extending his time with the team, Bottas explained: "We continued the discussions this week. I was at the factory on Tuesday and making progress.

Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

"But we're not going to sign a contract here. We're here to race. And to focus on bouncing back after a difficult weekend. And then there's always next week.

"Options are limited for me. That's how it is...

"[Mattia] really understands what he can get out of me for the team. So that's a good thing for me, obviously.

"And if I can get involved into a project for the years ahead, which is an interesting project, a car manufacturer, then I'm interested as well.

"So I think there's interest on both ways. And, yeah, we've made some progress. But I don't want to give anything more than that."

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