Valtteri Bottas says he's seeing a lot of sense in the idea of sticking around for the arrival of Audi on the grid in 2026.
Audi will take over Sauber Motorsport to create a new manufacturer works team when new engine regulations come into effect.
Sauber currently runs the Alfa Romeo Racing squad, but that deal expires at the end of the current season leaving it running under its original name during the interim period.
Bottas joined Alfa Romeo at the start of 2022 after being let go from his long-term role at Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton, but after a promising start it's been a struggle for Bottas and team mate Zhou Guanyu.
Bottas is on a 'two plus one' year contract which would keep him with the team into 2024. But the idea of staying long enough to play a key role in Audi's arrival on the grid is appealing to the Finn more and more as the weeks go on.
Previously he's been reluctant to look too far ahead or make long-term commitments, but that seems to be changing as deadlines draw closer.
"The more I think about it, yes," he replied to recent media questions about staying on until 2026. "For me, it's an interesting era for the team.
“When you are focused on the here and now, you don’t want to sometimes think too far ahead," he acknowledged. "But then if I really think about it, and the long term plan, then it would make sense.
"For me it would be really motivating to be part of it," he added. "Let's see; it's still a while away. I'm sure eventually we will have some discussions, but not yet.”
Alfa Romeo is currently ninth in the constructors championship having fallen behind Williams and ALphaTauri. The squad has scored points in only four races this season with Bottas in the top ten only twice in Bahrain and Canada.
There has been speculation that the decline in performance has been to to with a general 'wining down' ahead of the end of the naming rights deal with Alfa Romeo.
“Looking from the outside it could look that way," Bottas admitted. "That people are just waiting for Audi to come and so on. But it's not the case."
Frederic Vasseur stood down as team principal at the end of 2022 to take over at Ferrari, while Andreas Seidl moved across from McLaren to become chief executive officer of Sauber.
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