Valtteri Bottas says he’ll take a contemporary perspective into 2026 when he returns as a System 1 driver with Cadillac, following a yr on the sidelines as Mercedes reserve.
Sauber opted to signal Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto to guide the crew into the Audi period, signing each to two-year contracts that run by means of 2026 and leaving Bottas with no seat for the present season. The Finn returned to Mercedes to assist George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, however subsequent yr he can be again on the grid with Cadillac and believes the yr out has given him a greater understanding of his function as a driver.
“General now once I have a look at it, it is truly been a superb yr,” Bottas informed RACER. “I’ve managed to safe my spot once more as a race driver in System 1. And I had a yr of studying issues, being a bit on the opposite facet of the crew.
“While you’re a driver, you are form of in your personal bubble with a restricted quantity of individuals that you simply work with straight. And particularly once you’re out on monitor, you solely actually have one particular person that you simply talk with. However now, being within the storage for all of the periods, listening to all of the comms which are occurring in several conditions, I feel I’ve truly realized fairly a couple of issues about teamwork and the way issues truly work whereas the automotive is on monitor.
“It has opened up my eyes a bit. I feel this expertise will assist me sooner or later, understanding a bit extra about how a crew must function and what must be the requirements in several issues.
“But in addition, I feel it has been a superb yr as a result of it has made me recognize the game far more. To be a System 1 driver, one of many 20 – or subsequent yr, 22 – could be very distinctive. And I am going to positively have a special method to the game in that sense.”
Whereas the Finn was eager to return to the grid in 2026, he insists he didn’t discover many different choices outdoors of the Cadillac alternative, given how enticing the brand new crew’s mission is.
“I set Cadillac as a precedence fairly early on this yr,” he mentioned. “In order that was actually the primary focus. In order that’s why another discussions did not go too deep.
“For me, it was clear what I would like. And in the long run, when that occurred, it made me clearly very, very blissful and all the things form of labored out as deliberate.
“I did be taught from final yr that it is best to by no means get too assured. So I knew that I should not get too excited, though there was a number of constructive indicators and phrases and suggestions from the bosses. However I knew that till it is completed, simply maintain calm and do your factor. So, I positively realized lots in regards to the politics of F1 final yr.
“It felt nice [to sign], in fact. And virtually like signing my first ever F1 contract, feeling-wise, it is actually cool.
“That day, announcement day in New York simply made me notice, once more, that I will be a System 1 driver, which I recognize far more now than what I did some years in the past.”
