Valtteri Bottas makes 2026 F1 retirement decision as work begins after Mercedes return Valtteri Bottas has said he is likely to give up on chasing a Formula 1 future if he cannot land a place on the 2026 grid.
The latter's 2025 plans are not yet clear although he has been heavily linked with a reserve role at Ferrari, while Bottas has already accepted a similar offer back with his old Mercedes team.
And if, like Schumacher, he struggles to turn it into a race seat and a long-term plan with any team for the 2026 campaign and beyond, he admits he would then turn his focus away from F1.
Bottas replaces Mick Schumacher who, after two years as their reserve driver, decided to quit and focus fully on racing with Alpine in the World Endurance Championship.
New owner Audi wanted to install a new driver line-up for 2025 ahead of the transition to being a works from next year and so hired veteran Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
