As we head into February, more news continues to emerge from the Formula 1 world. Max Verstappen has been challenged by this NASCAR champion, Hamilton breaks his silence after testing at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, and George Russell has commented on the importance of Valtteri Bottas’ return to Mercedes as reserve driver. See it
George Russell has called Valtteri Bottas’ return to Mercedes ‘massive’ as his experience will be key in helping Mercedes develop. The Finn will act as Mercedes’ reserve driver in 2025, also taking on some simulator duties at Mercedes’ Brackley base. The Brit also discussed how his relationship with Bottas has developed in recent years.
Experienced in Formula 1, fast and almost always available. Those seem to be the three minimum requirements for a reserve driver in Formula 1 nowadays. Whereas in the past, teams mainly relied on young, inexperienced talents when a full-time driver suddenly needed to be replaced, the top teams in particular look for experienced drivers. Who
Juan Pablo Montoya believes Mercedes’ decision to bring Valtteri Bottas back to the team creates a ‘safety net’ in case Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggles in his debut season. The former Formula 1 driver compares Antonelli to Max Verstappen who also debuted young.
Last season in Formula 1, it showed how important it is to have good reserve drivers. Oliver Bearman was allowed to step in three times (coincidentally) after respective Ferrari and Haas drivers were suddenly unavailable in 2024, with fine performances coming in all three Grands Prix. Next season too, drivers are on standby to fill in, with
The F1 season is ever closer, and GPblog brings you the round up of the most fresh batch of Formula One related news.
Valtteri Bottas, after having spent three season at Sauber (previously called Alfa Romeo), has not managed to find a permanent full-time seat in F1 for the 2025 season. A Finnish billionaire, who previously supported the driver, Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, is surprised how he was previously ignored by him after his team stopped financially backing Bottas during
Valtteri Bottas doesn’t stop racing, albeit in a different sport. In his second home, Australia, the Finnish driver competed in his first gravel cycling event of the year, and already finished on the podium.
It was hard to miss Valtteri Bottas either out of the car, sporting his eighties-vintage Keke Rosberg mullet and moustache, or inside the day-glo green Sauber. Unfortunately his performances invariably failed to catch the eye, which was more due to the quality of his hardware than his driving. You’d be forgiven for failing to notice
Valtteri Bottas was ousted from Sauber, and has since taken on a third driver role at Mercedes with an aim to making an F1 comeback in 2026. While Cadillac remains a possibility for the Finn, he has not ruled out a move to Indycar either. However, a career change could very well be in the
At the beginning of last year we asked RaceFans readers which of the 20 drivers on the grid would beat their team mates over the course of the season. You correctly named seven of the 10 winners. But three drivers fell short of your expectations. Two of them are without an F1 drive for 2025
