Stake F1 Team Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas has admitted that he's concerned by the early resumption in Red Bull's domination of the sport, as he himself considers his own long-term future in the sport.
Max Verstappen claimed back-to-back race wins in the first two rounds of 2024 for Max Verstappen with his team mate Sergio Perez runner-up in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Bottas - who was runner up in the drivers' championship in 2019 and 2020 to then-Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton - admitted that tis wasn't a good look for the sport.
“It’s been quite a clean sweep for the last two races for Red Bull and Max,” Bottas said in quotes to Indian-based sports news service Sportskeeda after last weekend's Saudi Arabian GP. “It’s a bit concerning.
"For the whole wide world, it could be a bit like last year, but let’s hope things change during the year.”
While Red Bull swept all but one of last year's 22 races, the rest of the field remains closely packed, making the view very different from the back where Bottas has found himself in the opening rounds of the season.
"As a positive, we have some updates in the pipeline, which hopefully will allow us to make a step forward and fight for points," Bottas said when asked whether Sauber's fortunes would be any better in next week's Australian GP.
Despite the team's current struggles, Bottas insists that he's committed to staying with Sauber, and remaining there during its forthcoming takeover by Audi in 2026.
“I think there will be opportunities but, at the moment my priorities are the Audi project and to get in there for the long-term. Ideally, as a leader. That’s my biggest goal now," he told PlanetF1 in an exclusive interview.
“I definitely feel like it’s better if you can commit to the team and there’s no distraction on contracts and stuff,” he said. “So wherever I end up going, ideally I will be there for the long term.
"Obviously things can change," he added. "The way the cycle of driver contracts has now gone, there are actually quite a few open situations in different teams.
“I hope the people who will make decisions feel like I don’t need to prove anything,” he insisted. "If you look at my track record, if I have the car, they should know what I can do.
"But it's an extra motivation to do well, because unfortunately, the memory is quite short in this sport for many people. You have one average season and the people are going to forget you, so I do want to have a good year.”
One thing that the 34-year-old Bottas is definitely ruling out is any hint of retirement as he embarks on his 12th season in F1 since his debut in 2013.
"As far as I’m looking, I don’t see the end of me being in F1," he said. “I definitely want to be here for some successful years. The goal and motivation now is to try and get back closer to the front somehow.
“Obviously I’ve always just loved the pure racing and that side of the sport, and racing against the best drivers in the best cars,” he said. “That’s always the number one thing that I still believe is in the DNA of F1."
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