Bottas returns to Mercedes as F1 reserve driver for 2025 season

Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes as its reserve driver for next year, the Formula 1 team said Thursday.

London: Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes as its reserve driver for next year, the Formula 1 team said Thursday.

Bottas won 10 races over five seasons at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate from 2017-21. He did not score a point this season with Sauber and the team replaced him and Zhou Guanyu with a new lineup of the experienced Nico Hulkenberg and Brazilian newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto, ahead of rebranding as the Audi works team in 2026.

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Bottas’ return to Mercedes was made possible after Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, moved on from his Mercedes reserve driver role after two years.

“I’m happy to finally answer the question I’ve posed over the past month,” the 35-year-old Finn said. “Returning home to the Mercedes family as third driver for 2025 is what’s next and I couldn’t be more pleased. Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know that I’ve still got so much more to contribute to F1.”