Valtteri Bottas is about to face the harsh reality of life after Formula 1, following 12 consecutive seasons on the grid.
He has been with just three teams throughout his career but finds himself without a drive for 2025 after being overlooked by Sauber.
They have decided to go with youth, signing former McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto to their team to partner Nico Hulkenberg.
The two will go about steadying a ship that has failed to score a single point in 2024, before being taken over by Audi fully in 2026.
Damon Hill ‘can see’ Valtteri Bottas going to WEC
Choosing what to do after Formula 1 can be a tricky task for some drivers – take Daniel Ricciardo for example, who has stepped into a cockpit since leaving the sport.
It’s up to Bottas whether he wants to continue to drive or not, but his recent performances have shown that he does still have speed.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, 1996 Formula 1 champion Damon Hill shared where he believes the Finn might go next year.
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“To move out of Formula 1, there’s such a huge drop off in attention. We’ve seen Sebastian Vettel doing his promotion for green issues and the environment, but he needs F1 if you like to make that happen.
“If you’re a racing driver and you’ve still got so many gears like Valtteri, he wants to be driving something.
“I can see him going and doing something like a Mark Webber with World Endurance or something like that.”
Where else could Bottas go in 2025?
Aside from returning to former employer Mercedes in a Formula 1 reserve driver role, Bottas has full-time options to explore elsewhere in motorsport.
WEC isn’t a bad shout and would be a new challenge for the Finn to launch himself into – it’s just whether that sort of possibility interests him.
If he prefers to stay in single-seater racing, then a move to North America with IndyCar would be a good opportunity for him, and a large coup for a series trying to expand its fanbase.
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We’ve seen what Romain Grosjean has done there since leaving Europe – competing for victories and challenging the very best.
Without a doubt Bottas could do the same, it’s just going to boil down to whether again – it interests him, and whether he wants to move across the world for it.