Valtteri Bottas rejoins Mercedes as reserve driver for F1 2025

Valtteri Bottas raced for Kick Sauber in the 2024 season

Valtteri Bottas has rejoined the Mercedes Formula 1 team for the 2025 season. Bottas initially joined the team in 2017 and led the team to multiple Constructor titles alongside Lewis Hamilton. He was replaced by George Russell in 2022.

Bottas joined Alpha Romeo in 2022 after his exit from Mercedes, he raced for the team which was rebranded to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber after its partnership with Alfa Romeo ended.

However, he was not re-signed by Kick Sauber for the 2025 season which meant that he had no seat in the F1 paddock for the 2025 season.

Valtteri Bottas now heads home, back to the three-pointed star as the Third Driver for 2025

Un-Finn-ished Business

Valtteri said: “I’m happy to finally answer the question I’ve posed over the past month. Returning home to the Mercedes family as Third Driver for 2025 is what’s next and I couldn’t be more pleased. I want to thank Toto, the team at Brackley, and everyone at the three-pointed star for welcoming me back with open arms.

“Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know that I’ve still got so much more to contribute to F1. Since I was a five-year-old kid growing up in Nastola, Finland, my focus has been on achieving success in the top tier of motorsport. I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed many incredible moments in my 12 years of racing in F1 so far.

“As I return to the place where so many of those moments were achieved, I’m looking forward to using all the knowledge I’ve gained to help the team to perform and progress towards our goal of fighting for world championships.”

Legacy

Ten Grand Prix victories. 20 pole positions. 67 podiums, 58 of which with Mercedes F1. A key role in five consecutive Constructors’ World Championships. A storied career. An icon of the F1 paddock.

As we get ready to write our next chapter, it’s great to have a familiar face rejoin the team. We can’t wait for 2025 and we’re sure you can’t too!

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