Valtteri Bottas makes surprise reveal over secret rally test rumours in F1 career update

Valtteri Bottas has opened up on the truth of rumours about a current F1 driver taking part in a World Rallying test due to an uncertain future.

Bottas is one of several drivers without a confirmed seat for next season in Formula 1, and recent rumours suggested a current F1 driver has taken part in some private World Rally Championship testing – something the Finn has done in the past.

Valtteri Bottas: It’s not me!

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Last week, former Williams team manager turned journalist Peter Windsor claimed a current F1 driver has been carrying out testing behind the wheel of a World Rally Championship (WRC) car.

“I know of one Formula 1 driver that has done some rally testing recently – not Max Verstappen – in massive secrecy,” he said.

“I would never betray that secrecy by telling you who it is, but he was good and did well.”

Keeping quiet about the driver’s identity, an obvious candidate was Valtteri Bottas. The Finn has dabbled in rallying in the past and went as far as carrying out some secretive testing towards the end of 2018 before taking part in the 2019 Arctic Lapland Rally in a Ford Fiesta WRC – finishing fifth including a stage rally.

As Bottas is currently without a seat in F1 for 2024, could he be preparing a contingency plan for next year?

“No, it’s not actually!” he laughed as he spoke to media, including PlanetF1.com , at the Dutch Grand Prix when asked if it was true.

“The last test I did with a rally car, I think, was last year or the year before. It’s someone else.”

But is rallying an avenue Bottas would pursue if things don’t work out in F1 next year?

“For fun? Yes.” Bottas said. “But to race, I prefer here.”

Bottas remains confident that his time in F1 isn’t coming to an end just yet, despite his lack of seat for next year. A strong possibility had been a return to Williams, had Carlos Sainz opted against a seat with the Grove-based squad.

However, with Sainz signing to Williams at the start of the summer break, that door has shut – but the chances of him remaining with the Sauber team ahead of its takeover by Audi in a little over a year’s time appear to have grown.

“It did feel, for the last six months or so, that I wasn’t the top priority,” he said of the now deposed management team of Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl – Audi confirmed the appointment of former Audi boss Mattia Binotto and current Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley as its team management recently.

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While Wheatley can’t join until the middle of 2025 as he serves gardening leave from Red Bull at the end of this season, Binotto has taken up his post and Bottas said he can feel the difference in his discussions with Audi management.

“Obviously, there was one signing before me [Nico Hulkenberg], and, obviously, the team and the management looking for all the options with sometimes quite little communication, but, now, it feels a bit different,” he said.

“There was a clear reset. Now there’s a clear structure at the top who is doing what, and I think that’s positive going forward. Mattia comes from a team that has been super successful and knows what a good team really needs. So I think this is good for the future of this team.

“He knows me a little bit, and now we’ve got to know each other better. We used to be competitors when I was at Mercedes and he was at Ferrari. But it seems like he’s got respect for me. I’ve got respect for him, which is a good starting point for the discussion.”

Admitting that, since his future remains undecided into August/September, confirming his fate is something he’d like done sooner rather than later, Bottas said he’s learning more and more about Audi that makes him want to commit to the project.

“For me, it’s more like the more I learn about the Audi project and their investments and what they’ve been actually doing in recent years which, now in the last two weeks, learned a bit more,” he said.

“That makes me definitely more and more confident that it’s going to be successful project sooner or later. I know why some things are being told in this sport, I know how it goes.”

Given that Sainz is now out of the picture, having held up the driver market for a long period of time, Bottas said he feels his chances of being retained at Sauber/Audi have grown.

“For sure, it means there’s one driver less,” he said.

“So, yeah, I think it’s a fact that there are probably bigger chances now, but that’s where we are.

“My priority is being part of Audi, as I’ve said since the announcement of the brand coming to F1 – I always showed my interest in that project.

“Obviously, they make the decision in the end, but they’re evaluating all the options, no doubt, as they should. But I would imagine I should be in a strong position. But it’s down to Mattia and Audi.”

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