Bottas dreams of Red Bull: will the comeback come in 2026?

Bottas dreams of Red Bull: will the comeback come in 2026?

Valtteri Bottas expresses his wish to return to Formula 1 as a regular driver. The Finnish racing driver sees Red Bull Racing as a possible chance for a cockpit. Bottas, who is currently a reserve driver at Mercedes, believes an experienced driver in Red Bull's second car would be very useful, especially after the difficulties Red Bull has had with its current drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda since Sergio Perez left the team. Bottas believes he has the potential to dominate the Red Bull and is ready to take on the challenge.

Bottas is optimistic about the 2026 season as he has not yet given up his options for a cockpit. Before retiring from Sauber at the end of the 2024 season, the Finn had a career as a regular driver for Williams, Mercedes and Sauber for over a decade. His move back to Mercedes as a reserve driver was announced on December 19, 2024, after Sauber decided on a new driver combination of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. There was no longer any room for Bottas and Guanyu Zhou at Sauber.

Red Bull's driver shortage

The current driver shortage at Red Bull is obvious. Bottas has expressed his opinion about the situation several times. He has noted that Lawson and Tsunoda are having difficulties with the car's performance and suggests that Red Bull might achieve better results with an experienced driver. Bottas made it clear that joining Red Bull in 2025 is unlikely, mainly due to negative views from certain people within the Red Bull organization. Nevertheless, he shows interest and remains ready to fight for a return to racing.

Max Verstappen will of course remain number one in the team and is under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028. Tsunoda's long-term status, however, is uncertain, and Bottas wonders whether the team really needs a driver of his experience. His final years in Formula 1 were quite successful, with a third place in the world championship and five consecutive constructors' championships for Mercedes between 2017 and 2021. Bottas has competed in 246 Grands Prix, winning ten of them and was runner-up to Lewis Hamilton twice.

The future of Bottas

Despite his return as a reserve driver, Bottas fears this does not mean the end of his career on the track. He has stressed that he cannot believe that his last Grand Prix is ​​already behind him. It also holds out the prospect of also being open to Mercedes customer teams, such as Alpine, which will drive with Mercedes power from 2026. Bottas has partnerships that could support him in a comeback, but faces the challenge of raising the necessary financial resources to get back into the cockpit.

In the current season, Bottas has made good contact from the reserve position, but to get a cockpit at Red Bull he has to overcome the internal resistance and the current performance problems. The coming seasons could be crucial for his career and whether he can realize the dream of driving a competitive car again. Bottas continues to talk about his options, even if the barriers to entry are high.