Valtteri Bottas said there is “still a bit of work to do” in regards to a Mercedes contract as he moves closer to a reserved driver role.
The announcement that Mick Schumacher would be leaving the team at the end of the season opened the door for Bottas to return to his former team but a deal is not signed just yet.
Valtteri Bottas gives latest Mercedes contract update
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes confirmed that Schumacher had opted to leave his reserve driver role as he looks to pursue other ventures, meaning there is little in the way of Bottas and a move back to Brackley.
Bottas had been holding out for a full-time race seat but once his current side Sauber confirmed Gabriel Bortoleto would partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2025, the Finn had to readjust his thinking.
Asked in Qatar about a Mercedes deal, the 35-year-old said there was still some work to be done.
“We’re talking and it’s going well,” he told media including PlanetF1.com. “Still a bit of work to do but we’re talking.”
A number of other options remain open to Bottas in different series but the 10-time race winner said his goal is to stay in F1, even if it means a year on the sidelines.
“The priority for me is still Formula 1, I feel like I’m not done yet with this sport,” he said. “So I think to be around, to be able to hopefully do some testing, etc. I think it gives me a chance for ’26 because in this sport, you just never know what happens.
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“There is also a new team joining, which means two more seats so it obviously increases the opportunities for ’26.”
Bottas has experience of a reserve driver role before with Williams but it came on his way up the motorsport ladder. 12 years later, he did admit it would be hard to watch on but said he felt like he still had something to offer.
“It’s a different situation. It is now 12 years ago that I was in that role and that is when you’re trying to get into Formula 1 so you are willing to stand around,” Bottas said.
“And now if I were to take that role, it would be, for sure, difficult to watch, but at the same time, I feel like I have lots of things I can give to the team and Toto [Wolff] seems to know what he gets from me and how I could help the team.”
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