Bottas: Surviving a season without racing was not easy

      After parting ways with Sauber at the end of 2024, Valtteri Bottas was unable to find a main driver contract and spent the following season as a reserve driver for Mercedes. Competing this year for Cadillac, the experienced Finn admitted that going through a season without racing was not easy...

      Valtteri Bottas: "Being in reserve after having raced in Formula 1 for many years and watching from the sidelines turned out to be very difficult.

      But in our sport, it's important to stay visible, to keep working, even in a different capacity, and last year I had a great opportunity to spend a year with a good team. Ultimately, the decision turned out to be the right one.

      It's great that last year I continued to train to be ready to get behind the wheel at any moment, so I didn't have to catch up too much over the winter. The cars this year are physically less demanding, at least for now, due to the lower downforce. But they will improve, become faster, and the loads will increase."