Valtteri Bottas’ F1 future to be decided in ‘matter of weeks’ as Audi weigh up options

Sauber F1 team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has suggested Audi will make a final decision on their 2025 driver line-up in the next few weeks.

Audi are still weighing up their options for next year, leaving Valtteri Bottas uncertain about his F1 future.

Ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Bottas hinted that he’s likely to stay with Sauber next year, although he named IndyCar as a possible alternative if his F1 career was to come to an end.

McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto is thought to be the alternative to Bottas, should Audi want a hot young talent in the car.

The decision will be Mattia Binotto, who was appointed boss of the Audi F1 project in July.

When asked about the driver situation in the FIA press conference on Friday, Bravi said: “I think this is the current assessment Mattia is doing. It just started two weeks ago. We have said already in Monza that he’s taking charge of those decisions and the drivers are one of the most important ones.

“We’re evaluating all of the options to see which is the best balance between short-term experience and medium, long-term, maybe young talent. There are potential candidates on both sides. Valtteri is a strong driver for our team. We know him very well.

“He has been with the team already for three years. Of course, he’s one of the top of our list, but there are other opportunities. We’re just looking at all of the pros and cons. Mattia will take a decision based on not only 2025 but also the medium-long term strategy for the Audi F1 project.”

The second Sauber seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg is the only vacant one on the grid for next year.

Alpine recently signed Jack Doohan after missing out on Carlos Sainz to Williams, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli was confirmed at Mercedes at the Italian Grand Prix.

In terms of a deadline, Bravi suggested an announcement will be made in the next few weeks.

“It’s not about a deadline,” he added. “We are not opportunistic. Now that there’s only one seat available, we want to take time. It’s more to assess everything, every aspect and to take a right decision. There is no rush but we want to tick this box soon. It will be a matter of the next weeks.”