There was a clear air of frustration emanating from Valtteri Bottas during the Finn’s media duties for Sauber on Thursday in Miami.
It was clear for all to see that something was simmering under the skin of the usually cool and composed Sauber driver.
The source of his irritation? The surprising discovery upon his arrival at the track that his race engineer, Alex Chan, had been replaced by Sauber.
Bottas' demeanor and tone during the FIA press conference left no doubt that this was a change he neither expected nor supported, especially on the eve of a Sprint weekend that always includes its own set of challenges.
“Yeah, it was quite a sudden change,” he said. “Obviously, it's a sprint weekend, so working with a fresh guy will be not easy, but trying to make the most out of it.
“He's getting a lot of support. But yeah, it's quite a sudden change.”
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Along with Williams and Alpine, Sauber has yet to put a single championship point on the board after five races.
But beyond the team’s lacklustre results, its performance level has always been unremarkable, although Bottas succeeded in making the top-ten shootout in qualifying for the first time this season last time out in Shanghai.
The Finn reckoned that Sauber’s sudden decision to replace his race engineer is part of the Swiss outfit’s knee-jerk efforts to pull itself out of the doldrums.
“I think it's part of the kind of reconstruction for the team,” he said.
“There's some people leaving, some people joining. And obviously, many of those decisions, they are not in my hands. I don't do those decisions.”
It’s likely that Bottas' visible frustration wasn't solely due to the unexpected race engineer change. It was perhaps also sourced in the recent news of Nico Hulkenberg’s signing as Audi’s first driver for 2025.
The Finn knew beforehand that his future with the Hinwil squad was up in the air. But Audi/Sauber’s announcement mean that Bottas and teammate Zhou Guanyu will now be fighting for a hypothetical remaining seat with the team.
The sudden changes and the looming competition for a single seat with Audi – not to mention the rumors of Carlos Sainz potentially completing the team’s 2025 line-up – clearly cast a shadow over Bottas' Miami weekend.
“Of course, the timing is quite early and a little bit surprising,” he admitted. “But the driver market is starting to move, and it also kind of makes sense.
“He's German, and Audi has made it pretty clear that they want a German driver, so it's all good. Let's see what happens next.”
Although he would likely welcome a long-term contract with Audi, that now seems like a very remote prospect. Bottas hinted that he is exploring other options in F1, with Williams cited as a possible.
“I’m speaking to multiple teams, some talks have advanced more than others,” he said.
Perhaps the ten-time Grand Prix winner could also return to Mercedes for a one-year stint should the Brackley squad wish to prepare teenage young gun Andrea Kimi Antonelli for an additional year before his promotion to the big time.
Watch this space…
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