Valtteri Bottas is set to return to Williams for the 2025 F1 season, replacing Logan Sargent, according to sources.
Reports from Australian media Speedcafe and Finnish publication VSabladet link Bottas heavily with a return to Williams for the 2025 campaign, which PlanetF1.com claims has been verified. ing.
Valtteri Bottas to bring Williams back in 2025 – Report
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
During the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend in Imola, Bottas was seen meeting Williams team principal James Bolles for coffee in the team’s camper van, but Bottas downplayed the incident, saying PlanetF1.com He told the media that it was natural for him to be in the paddock.
When asked what the conversation was about, he replied:[It was] Ordinary things, life things!
“Of course, when you’re in a free market, you want to check what’s out there. That’s a very normal situation. [when] You are in a free market. ”
Bottas, who had already spent his first four seasons in F1 as a Williams driver from 2013 to 2016, was once again talked about after the race about his future in F1.
He added that he expects further updates on this soon, and even hinted that Williams might be involved in negotiations.
He told media such as PlanetF1.com: That’s the goal. ”
When asked earlier in the weekend if “drinking more coffee” was on the agenda, hinting at a meeting with Volles, the current Kick Sauber driver replied: “Yes. I like coffee, but I don’t know. ”
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If Valtteri Bottas returns to Williams, what impact will it have on the overall market?
The report could see Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli remain in F2 for another season if the Silver Arrows decide on another option to replace Lewis Hamilton next season.
The FIA confirmed in Miami that it had received an exemption application to allow Antonelli to race in F1 before his 18th birthday, but the move means Antonelli could at least jump up to F1 quickly with Williams. This suggestion will be rewarded. En route to his debut season in F2 with Prema this year, he had already leapfrogged F3.
Antonelli has been talked about as a potential candidate to take the Mercedes seat squarely in 2025, with Lewis Hamilton himself backing him to join the team as his successor – but team principal ‘s Toto Wolff urged caution about his future, saying: “I’m hoping for the next thing.” “Don’t rush,” it seems almost certain that the 17-year-old will eventually be on the grid.
“We have been promoting this young man for a long time and he will be a very good player.” [driver]And he has the potential to be a great driver in F1 one day, but he is only 17 years old,” Wolff told PlanetF1.com and other media about Antonelli in Imola.
“Fourteen months ago he was driving an F4 car and there were very high expectations in Italy and we feel a bit guilty talking about him at that stage.
“I think we should let him do what he has to do in F2 and get the results and not get too carried away with what could or should be.
“Look at George [Russell]. He won F3 and F2 in his rookie year, while Kimi also achieved results in the junior series. And he’s in F2 now, so we’ll see.
“He will be in F1 one day, but let’s not rush it.”
Read next: 2025 F1 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?
