But did he? Sure, Toto Wolff was acting all super surprised and crying crocodile tears but he is also on record for saying that under no circumstances would he have tolerated a repeat of the 2016 season. Wolff and Lauda knew full well this would have been a recipe for unmitigated disaster. But what were they going to do with their two unyielding world champions? Sacking one of them unceremoniously would have done untold damage to Mercedes' reputation. So they opted to give Nico the golden handshake (i.e. enough moolah to keep his trap shut) and send him off into the sunset... "with dignity". ;) Oh, and I wouldn't put it past Lewis having played a small role in this drama ("Either this guy goes... or I will.")
The fact that Bartoleto is not 'on loan' to Sauber/Audi means, in my mind, that McLaren is serious about maintaining this driver line-up for '25 and '26, which is great. I feel like everyone wins in this scenario. All three drivers can be confident about what their future holds and Bartoleto gets to go to a, possibly, ideal situation. I am not sure if their is a better veteran driver to have as your teammate than Hulk and pressure will be low considering it is an underwhelming Sauber and Audi has already reported that they will be light on power come '26.
Yeah I think this works out great for Bortoleto. Some people seem to think starting at a bad team is awful for a new driver, that is not strange at all and there are many examples of drivers proving they are good enough for a top team in a bad car. Just on this current grid we have George who started in a comparable car. Teams have more knowledge and data, they can see how a driver is doing in a bad car. And if he stayed with McLaren he would be hoping something happens there real soon otherwise he could very likely have sat on the sideline for at least 2 years. Then on top of that, if he does well at Sauber and something does happen at a top team he will surely be one of the top contenders.
Actually it means they are very happy with Piastri, they have been looking at Norris for years already. It is why the Norris groupies are so intimidated by Piastri's success, I mean they have claimed he has taken points away from Norris, McLaren is pushing forwards with their strategy of having two championship level drivers rather than the number 2 driver strategy.
@@DeathBlocks Yeah, everyone knew Russell was the real deal. I remember Fernando saying, when George was languishing at Williams that he was going to be a top driver.
Why has no one ever considered Bottas for the RedBull seat? Feel like Bottas at Mercedes was pretty much the perfect no.2 driver, and was only let go, because Merc had to start thinking of the team post LH. Why not give him the Red Bull seat for a year, and let Liam Lawson proove himself over a full year?
@sanderilangdon6274. Who said no-one had considered Bottas for Red Bull? I would be surprised him doing a better job than Pérez did. Bottas was closer to Hamilton than Pérez ever was to Max. I do regard Bottas and Pérez of a simular quality with Bottas less emotional.
I don't think they're even in the same ball park tbh... You just need go look at Bottas' record of getting into Q3 whilst at Mercedes. Granted, his race craft never was amazing, but he sure did play a part in the 8 consecutive constructors championships that Mercedes won. And that's what they're really looking for at Red Bull. Perez really is solely to blame for Red Bull being totally out of contention from the constructors championship this year. I'd be pretty surprised if that would be the case, with Bottas in that car.
RedBull is a bit of stretch in my opinion, but I'm suprised that he was never in the discusion about the mercedes seat (actual one, not the reserve). Considering the merc's second seat was almost a guarantee one year to keep the seat warm for Kimi, which turned off a lot of potential options including Sainz, I don't know why no one thought of Bottas. I think he would be the only one available driver on the grid that would gladly take the one year deal, have himself a little send off year in the team that he helped clinch 5 WCCs and then move on with his life
@@santerilangdon6274 Bottas got into Q3 so many times because the car was so dominant back then. The gap between teams was miles compared to the gaps today. That's why Hamilton is overrated.
@santerilangdon6274 Bottas is a very good qualifier. Combined with the Mercedes rocketship he qualified often very well. Bottas' racecraft took a serious hit at Mercedes. He was exiting at Williams however. Pérez is able to pull every now and then a rabbit out of the hat. Bottas is able to do the same and both are crumbling under the pressure from a topteam.
The fact that Bottas, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and potentially Perez, the veterans from the V6 era all losing their seat in the same season and getting replaced by rookies is just mindblowing. It's a symbol of an end to the V6 era, and starting a complete new era full of young talents.
These news also most definitely mean that the 35 year streak of Finnish driver appearing as a driver in F1 is broken, which is unfortunate news for us Finns. Here hoping that the Tiger will get through f3 and f2 eventually. I do hope though that Bortoleto ends up performing well!
Finnish dont rally / really need F1, They are natural drivers. Wait till the Americans cash in on WRC, and disrespect Finnish drivers again! Disgraceful in my eyes, and neither am I white or Scandinavian!
It's weird and sad, as I have been watching F1 as long as I remember and there have been a Finn driving in F1 literally my whole lifetime. Hope we get the next Finn soon!
As a big fan of Bottas I do hope he is the Merc reserve driver. If Kimi keeps up his smash rate in a full season it makes sense to have a solid reserve driver to swap over and save some cash.
This is Formula 1 and money talks. Bottas was far too expensive to keep around. His salary of 10 million dollar is truly exorbitant for a back marker team, owned by a carmaker in utter financial turmoil. Huelkenberg and Bortoleto will be driving for "peanuts" in comparison.
Bortoleto isn't a back to back junior champion. F2 season isn't finished and I still hope Hadjar wins it, he has been massively unlucky but he's the fastest by far this season. But I'm gutted for Pourchaire, he did everything right. Nice to have a brasilian on the grid though. Brazil and Japan are the 2 nations out of Europe that should always be represented for F1's sake. But as you said, no finn on the grid is too bad :/ and there's no obvious junior talent to replace Valtttttteri.
Not only its two south americans, its two "rival" countries. Argentina and Brasil have a long history of rivalry in every sport we cross paths. Why? I dont think we know or care at this point but its just a fun thing we have going on for ages. Imo its just out of mutual respect, because in reality theres no beef between us
Fernando Alonso will be driving next to Gabriel Bortoleto a driver he manages.... i dont think this has ever been done before lol. also another alonso driver joined Red Bull junior drivers program.
If a rookie comes into F1 and they're as good as Michael Schumacher, it literally doesn't matter where the car is on the grid, their incredible talent will shine through. You could be in a dog of a car and people will still see how great you are. In F1 any car is better than no car.
Senna on Toleman and Lauda on March to talk about legends, to some steps below (and a couple of years ahead) we have Danny Ric in that HRT dogshit, Russell at Williams (in his first 2 years with them, their car were absolutely terrible) and so on
Saving this video for later but wanted to stop by and send love, abundance and happiness to Law, his family and everyone in the community. Hope you all have a prosperous november!
I am happy for Bortoletto and I am happy in general that there will be so many Rookies next year. Colapinto should stay at Williams as a reserve imo and hope for a seat there for next year. To go to the RB universe could be very risky. Bottas would be a perfect WEC driver imo, because he is such a good teamplayer. And there are some interesting new projects like Aston Martin or Hyundai coming. I would like to see him together with Nicki Thiim in the Valkyrie :D
would absolutely love to see bottas and ricciardo in aussie supercars...could you imagine the beauty of seeing those two caress the car up the fabled mountain?
he’s earnt his place though unlike the other veterans. and thats how it should be. your place on the grid shouldnt be a given and i think this is a good thing
whilst Felipe is no doubt a great driver it took him 3 seasons in f2 to win the championship... Bortoletto won f3 in his first year and now en route to win f2 in his first year also. Just food for thought, it's not a great mystery as to why he's getting fast tracked with his talent. There's simply better and younger drivers out there to pick from..that being said it's a real shame and unfair for both Felipe and Theo's prime years to be wasted sitting on the sidelines. I hope they get a chance at some stage.
@@EnfvntTerrible fair enough logic but don't they deserve it more than Doohan and Antonelli? I think Antonelli is gonna take yearssss to develop and is more likely to fold under the pressure and lose his seat before he has the chance to mature into F1..
@@abcdetheridge absolutely agree with the sentiment that they deserve it equally if not more than Doohan and Antonelli. Just my justification for Bortoleto and his brilliance! I can sorta understand why Alpine went with Doohan from their academy, still odd considering he has had a relatively average junior career thus far. I agree with you on Antonelli also, i think he will be under immense pressure at a front running team, especially with Toto breathing down his neck in hopes that he'll be Mercedes' saving grace and possibly the next Verstappen...recipe for disaster? 🤔
I think Mattia wasn't really that fond of having one seat already occupied by someone his predecessor signed. I think if Seidl didn't sign his buddy Hülkenberg already in like April, we would've seen Bottas and Bortoleto for next season. Especially because Hülkenberg got a really long contract for someone that wasn't really sought after by any other team and is already 37 years old. Yes he isn't doing that bad right now but signing a driver into his fourties is wild for someone who isn't a world champion. Also imo Bottas is a faster driver than Hülkenberg. I'm gutted that Bottas is gone (at least for now). I love this guy's personality and losing him and Ricciardo in the same year stings a lot. I think he will go back to Mercedes as a reserve driver in case that F1 comes too soon for Antonelli and Toto is forced to sub someone else in until Kimi is ready. But i don't think that will really happen. But i could see a door opening at Alpine as i'm not really sold on Doohan. Let's see.
6:27 in regard of that, the brazilian F1 fans that are deep into the sport understand that the car is not good and it needs time and patience to develop. Those ones are already saying that in social media to let the casual ones know and not expect too much right off the start
Bortoleto is another Max Verstappen - his record setting drive in F2 from last (22nd) to 1st against all drivers, in the same car, is the stuff of legend. Monza F2 2024. The first time it's ever been done in the history of F2. The race is worth watching. The guy is a serious talent.
Picking Bortoleto is a great move, and dropping Bottas a necessary step to getting there. But picking Nico over Bottas? Barking. Bottas/Bortoleto would be a much better line-up. I guess Nico's popularity and fame over here in Germany turned Audi's head.
I knew Zhou would never make it to another season, but was unsure about Bottas until I saw the absolute tension when they changed Bottas' race engineer without warning and his vague aimless answers to where are you going after that, that came pretty hard after that. I hope he can be reserve if that's an option or what he wants. Its been a rough season at Sauber but its been clear to me in his case, that he's tried to do what he could in that car, but it's been the new Williams now, back of the line.
Zhou wasn't so bad when he first came in. He even managed to match Bottas at some races. And he even looked more consistent than a guy like Stroll. Obviously, having a better car has made Stroll look better, though I doubt their driving skill are really that far apart. Bottas is a solid driver who def deserves to stay on the grid. But he is getting older and isn't going to be winning a championship in his lifetime, so a lot of teams just don't put much stock in a driver like that. The trend seems to be investing in younger guys with potential, or veterans who have proven to be race winners. And Bottas doesn't fit into either category. Hulkenberg is an exception to that rule. And even Hulk hasn't been looking that great recently. KMag has been driving better at the last few races and Bearman has shown to have similar pace, albeit a bit more incident prone. But Bearman is a rookie so it's kind of expected.
Bottas has won 10 races and got 67 podiums and twice runner up to being a Formula 1 champion (2019/2020) and thus is a veteran who has proven to be a race winner. Hulkenberg has no race wins and no podiums and his best season result was 7th.
Now he's a free agent he can go 2 any team he wants, if I were him redbull 2026, and all car manufacturing teams in f1 r just pissed that a non car manufacturer is kicking there butt's in racing.
Now that Audi is no longer a project of German pride aiming for wins in '26, I'm glad they put Valtteri out of his misery. Something tells me that Hulk will not be willing to prolong his contract either. Excited to see Bottas in rally, WEC or Indycar. Or cycling. At least Valtteri gets his farewell, unlike Ricciardo. Hope he gets to do some doughnuts in AD.
@@LawVS from what I've seen/heard, VW group is one bad fiscal year away from pulling out of F1 and there are no news on their 2026 engine project (while RBPT and Mercs report first successes). At this rate they might sell to Aramco (or Andretti) before 2025 ends.
@@va1korion Ralf Bach has announced that Audi will sell the majority of its shares to Qatar. I don't know if there is any truth to that. Time will tell.
0:00 I know it’s probably not but this feels like a reference to the end of DBZA. I used to be addicted to dbza and found your f1 channel after years of not seeing you and very happy to see a familiar face, these are my adult versions of your what if videos
@LawVS I love your content! I think Sauber isn't the best environment right now, and next year might not be much better. It’s not just about the car-it’s the team dynamics that worry me. There's a real risk they could burn out Bortoleto. While you say there are no expectations, I disagree; if he’s slower than Hulk or causes significant damage, that could be a big issue. Meanwhile, Hulk has nothing to prove. For Bottas, a break might even be beneficial, especially with all the rookies(not all of them will succeed) and potential changes for 2026. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year shakes up the whole driver lineup, possibly opening doors at bigger teams that might look for experience.
Doohan and Bortaletto need to thank Colapinto because hes given credit to the belief in non F2 champions can succeed. Especially after nobody believed it would work after the Sargeant disaster..
its too bad Colapinto did not get that seat. Hopefully something else will open up for Colapinto in 2025, however being a reserve driver for Williams may ultimately be good for his career. Clearly the writing is on the wall for Albon due to the fact that Williams brought Colapinto in.
While there may be no bunjee clause there may well be a year end or following year end option. i.e. keep Bortoleto but only on an annual basis. I do not think McLaren will give up the chance to have him in future. It's better for them to let him get experience on track.
Im praying in 2025 there will be enough other investors to finnally put pressure on to get stroll out. Cus daddy stroll has sold a lot of the company and cus aston now have a say as does newey.
I think everyone is forgetting Maclaren still have Pato O'ward .. he is the official reserve driver so if either Lando or Oscar go to another team they still have him
Law, I think the NEW Formula 2 cars have REALLY helped the rookies. If Logan had been able to drive those cars it would of helped him. No denying Logan just didn't have that cut throat attitude honestly. I also think Formula 2 should add a few more races to their calendar.
Great video As much as i like Valterri, Sauber is clearly his last moment as driver like Raikkonen, and tbh am glad to see him wearing again the silver arrows suit even if its as reserve driver(he is one of my fav mercedes driver, mostly due to videogames, the driver i played the most in his merc time, ecen more than Rosberg or Hamilton), now lets enjoy his last races that end up not like Daniel, suddenly and immediatly.
To be honest it seems to me like Audi might just simply pull out before 2026 if they see nothing change in the first 6 months of the season leaving Sauber to sell out to anyone willing buy it.
I'm excited for the rookies next season and I think this is for the best, but Bottas constantly being derided for being 23/20 is getting old now. Yes, it IS a ridiculous stat but nobody is scoring anything in that rubbish car, especially when the organisation behind it are just coasting until Audi take over and have seemingly no respect/interest for the drivers. When the car was better in 2022, Bottas was scoring good points and Zhou was also often decent. I just don't think this point-less scorecard can be held against either driver, especially when chances early in the season were torpedoed by reliability and embarassing pitstops. One thing I don't see being mentioned in their defence is that they at least aren't constantly binning cars and racking up bills like the Williams drivers and people like Stroll. If the car was regularly capable of troubling the lower end of the points then we could get a true representation of the current drivers but we can't. There's no way Bottas suddenly lost everything he had that fast. All of that said, I am looking forward to the arrival of the new drivers next season and the clearout of the stale grid. Lance needs to to next and also (as much as I like him) Perez unless he can have a miraculous revival.
firstly, Sauber / Audi is a mess. they were wishy washy in full commitment to F1 by being majority stake holders and then changed their minds and decided to become a works team. their management is just slightly better than that of Alpine, which is a total disaster. secondly, Sauber /Audi must have known with their terrible car and performances that paying Bettas 10 million was not going to be viable and was surely on the lookout for a replacement for Valteri months ago. a works team would not nurture a driver on loan from Maclaren and I am sure they were negotiating that either having Borteletto be fully released or they would look elsewhere. On the Maclaren side, they wanted to ensure that Lando and Oscar was going to be able to work together and was probably negotiating with Sauber regarding compensation for their young drivers release. It's similar to Colapinto not being already signed to Red Bull teams as Williams negotiates his full release to Red Bull. Red Bull certainly would not want a driver on loan as well. Bettas is likely going to move back to Mercedes as a reserved driver next year hoping for a seat in 2026. Furthermore, why would a works team want 2 mid to late thirties drivers in their lineup as they ramp up to 2026. that would make no sense. thereby, even Binotto when he came on was surely the demise of Bettas from the team.
regarding haas.... i dont think bearman is going to set the world alight with his driving at least for a bit more years. he lacks that capability to drive the car. maybe its a thing of confidence, who knows. it feels to me its more like the british bias that pushed for him to be on the grid, just because he didnt bin the ferrari in vegas last year.
Sorry but how would British bias make Ferrari get him a seat? I agree with you that I don't expect him to set the world alight. He definitely did well in his races, if you ask me comparable to Lawson who so many people want in Red Bull right now. But I just don't think Ferrari has the same future prospect as the other top teams.
@@DeathBlocks british media have tried their best to put him in the spotlight whenever they get the chance, compared to other drivers. and to be frank, its a bit absurd that they try to put another british driver into the grid , when they already have 3. its not like they lack representation. i dont think lawson is cut to be in the Red bull seat just yet either. leaving aside the coments that checo should be kicked out. well about the ferrari bit... i cant say much about it...
Bottas, you are another example of the early to mid 2010 drivers being passed over by both older established and younger exciting drivers. At least you had a solid career with 10 wins and plenty of poles and podiums!
excited to see Bortoleto but definitely sucks we most likely will never see a comeback story for Mick Schumacher. Great driver but got put into a terrible team with a terrible car (at the time) and never got to show his true potential.
@@Pato-ARGcan we be realistic, this narrative that Mick was trash is bizarre. he’s shown glimpses of being a good racer and a great #2 but never had a decent car to do anything worthwhile like ever when he was at HAAS.
Agreed, you dont need Bottas if you got Hulk. Plus, while Bottas is super reliable and quick in qualifying, he is by far the worst when it comes to defending positions and overtaking.
Hulkenberg is good at developing cars, while Bortoleto is one of the hottest prospects right now. Poor Mr. Ass really doesn't bring that much to the team, other than experience (which is also covered by Hulkenberg). He's not a bad driver at all, but he just doesn't have much more to offer to the F1. As for Zhou, he should be happy that his career lasted as long as it did. He wasn't terrible, just nothing special.
Im not sure about the project. If the rumors are true, there will be no Audi Team. In name only. It is rumored that Qatar bought the team and will use the Audi name as a licence. Because VW is in its biggest crisis and closing down 3 factorys doesnt go along with founding a billion € F1 team
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It was not the driver.. it is the car.. Looking forward to seeing Hulk and Bord get the same fate in 1 years time
@@MrPeterheveran what 😂
Now after all these rookies on the grid, it will be really heartbreaking if Colapinto does not get a seat for next year.
you dont realise how talented gabriel is he won f3 in hes rookie season and the current f2 championship leader as a rookie in not the best car
He'll get the Williams seat in 2026
@@Kai_776 i think he implies he wants both drivers, not that he would prefer colapinto over bortoleto
He will get Williams seat next year and therefore Sainz goes to RedBull replace Checo.
He's in ❤ with Williams give it a minute and Albon will crash his way out of F1.
Honestly, Bottas leaving is good. That team doesn't deserve his skills anyway
It's a shame Nico has to drive that tractor next season, with no guarantee if Audi will be any good.
@@arjunnair8037 guaranteed to be bad, because Audi is not in until 2026. 2025 is still transitioning
I just dont get why everyone thinks Audi will change anything @@zegzbrutal
Nico Rosberg is the last person to retire with dignity.
Massa? Kimi? Seb? There's only 3 drivers who retired after winning a championship
Agreed
But did he?
Sure, Toto Wolff was acting all super surprised and crying crocodile tears but he is also on record for saying that under no circumstances would he have tolerated a repeat of the 2016 season. Wolff and Lauda knew full well this would have been a recipe for unmitigated disaster. But what were they going to do with their two unyielding world champions? Sacking one of them unceremoniously would have done untold damage to Mercedes' reputation. So they opted to give Nico the golden handshake (i.e. enough moolah to keep his trap shut) and send him off into the sunset... "with dignity". ;)
Oh, and I wouldn't put it past Lewis having played a small role in this drama ("Either this guy goes... or I will.")
With a tainted title due to him hitting hamilton several times ?
@@crystalracing4794 there were zero dignity in their retirement...
The fact that Bartoleto is not 'on loan' to Sauber/Audi means, in my mind, that McLaren is serious about maintaining this driver line-up for '25 and '26, which is great. I feel like everyone wins in this scenario. All three drivers can be confident about what their future holds and Bartoleto gets to go to a, possibly, ideal situation. I am not sure if their is a better veteran driver to have as your teammate than Hulk and pressure will be low considering it is an underwhelming Sauber and Audi has already reported that they will be light on power come '26.
Bortoleto guy Gabriel Bortoleto.
Yeah I think this works out great for Bortoleto. Some people seem to think starting at a bad team is awful for a new driver, that is not strange at all and there are many examples of drivers proving they are good enough for a top team in a bad car. Just on this current grid we have George who started in a comparable car. Teams have more knowledge and data, they can see how a driver is doing in a bad car.
And if he stayed with McLaren he would be hoping something happens there real soon otherwise he could very likely have sat on the sideline for at least 2 years.
Then on top of that, if he does well at Sauber and something does happen at a top team he will surely be one of the top contenders.
Actually it means they are very happy with Piastri, they have been looking at Norris for years already. It is why the Norris groupies are so intimidated by Piastri's success, I mean they have claimed he has taken points away from Norris, McLaren is pushing forwards with their strategy of having two championship level drivers rather than the number 2 driver strategy.
@@arkangelarkangel1302 That's an embarrassing mistake on my part. Thanks
Gabriel Bortoleto.
@@DeathBlocks Yeah, everyone knew Russell was the real deal. I remember Fernando saying, when George was languishing at Williams that he was going to be a top driver.
Why has no one ever considered Bottas for the RedBull seat? Feel like Bottas at Mercedes was pretty much the perfect no.2 driver, and was only let go, because Merc had to start thinking of the team post LH. Why not give him the Red Bull seat for a year, and let Liam Lawson proove himself over a full year?
@sanderilangdon6274.
Who said no-one had considered Bottas for Red Bull? I would be surprised him doing a better job than Pérez did. Bottas was closer to Hamilton than Pérez ever was to Max. I do regard Bottas and Pérez of a simular quality with Bottas less emotional.
I don't think they're even in the same ball park tbh... You just need go look at Bottas' record of getting into Q3 whilst at Mercedes. Granted, his race craft never was amazing, but he sure did play a part in the 8 consecutive constructors championships that Mercedes won. And that's what they're really looking for at Red Bull. Perez really is solely to blame for Red Bull being totally out of contention from the constructors championship this year. I'd be pretty surprised if that would be the case, with Bottas in that car.
RedBull is a bit of stretch in my opinion, but I'm suprised that he was never in the discusion about the mercedes seat (actual one, not the reserve). Considering the merc's second seat was almost a guarantee one year to keep the seat warm for Kimi, which turned off a lot of potential options including Sainz, I don't know why no one thought of Bottas. I think he would be the only one available driver on the grid that would gladly take the one year deal, have himself a little send off year in the team that he helped clinch 5 WCCs and then move on with his life
@@santerilangdon6274 Bottas got into Q3 so many times because the car was so dominant back then. The gap between teams was miles compared to the gaps today. That's why Hamilton is overrated.
@santerilangdon6274
Bottas is a very good qualifier. Combined with the Mercedes rocketship he qualified often very well. Bottas' racecraft took a serious hit at Mercedes. He was exiting at Williams however. Pérez is able to pull every now and then a rabbit out of the hat. Bottas is able to do the same and both are crumbling under the pressure from a topteam.
The fact that Bottas, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and potentially Perez, the veterans from the V6 era all losing their seat in the same season and getting replaced by rookies is just mindblowing. It's a symbol of an end to the V6 era, and starting a complete new era full of young talents.
These news also most definitely mean that the 35 year streak of Finnish driver appearing as a driver in F1 is broken, which is unfortunate news for us Finns. Here hoping that the Tiger will get through f3 and f2 eventually.
I do hope though that Bortoleto ends up performing well!
Finnish dont rally / really need F1, They are natural drivers.
Wait till the Americans cash in on WRC, and disrespect Finnish drivers again!
Disgraceful in my eyes, and neither am I white or Scandinavian!
It's weird and sad, as I have been watching F1 as long as I remember and there have been a Finn driving in F1 literally my whole lifetime. Hope we get the next Finn soon!
@@Sepi-bx5qd there were no Brazilians and no Italians right now, and if Hulk left no Germans
As a big fan of Bottas I do hope he is the Merc reserve driver. If Kimi keeps up his smash rate in a full season it makes sense to have a solid reserve driver to swap over and save some cash.
Did they really "sack" Valtteri? I thought his contract ended at the end of 2024, and it just won't be renewed.
That’s some efficient timing for the bedtime routine over here in aus
This is Formula 1 and money talks.
Bottas was far too expensive to keep around. His salary of 10 million dollar is truly exorbitant for a back marker team, owned by a carmaker in utter financial turmoil. Huelkenberg and Bortoleto will be driving for "peanuts" in comparison.
I bet their combined salary will be less than Bottas's alone...
Bortoleto isn't a back to back junior champion. F2 season isn't finished and I still hope Hadjar wins it, he has been massively unlucky but he's the fastest by far this season.
But I'm gutted for Pourchaire, he did everything right. Nice to have a brasilian on the grid though. Brazil and Japan are the 2 nations out of Europe that should always be represented for F1's sake. But as you said, no finn on the grid is too bad :/ and there's no obvious junior talent to replace Valtttttteri.
Not only its two south americans, its two "rival" countries. Argentina and Brasil have a long history of rivalry in every sport we cross paths. Why? I dont think we know or care at this point but its just a fun thing we have going on for ages. Imo its just out of mutual respect, because in reality theres no beef between us
rivals only in football,in race cars we are not ,did you see the brazil gp? every single brazilian was cheering for colapinto,that is not being rivals
I don't think Sauber sacked Bottas - he just came to the end of his contract. They decided not to do a new deal.
I suspect the uploader knows that too, but the clickbaity "sacking" is "better" - no need for honesty in titles (or videos).
Fernando Alonso will be driving next to Gabriel Bortoleto a driver he manages.... i dont think this has ever been done before lol. also another alonso driver joined Red Bull junior drivers program.
If a rookie comes into F1 and they're as good as Michael Schumacher, it literally doesn't matter where the car is on the grid, their incredible talent will shine through. You could be in a dog of a car and people will still see how great you are.
In F1 any car is better than no car.
C44 is so terrible that both drivers have to coast on throttle.... Are you sure M.Schmacher or Senna or Max can pull off good performance in tractors?
True to some extent
Alonso in the minardi, Kimi in sauber, Schumacher on Jordan, and so on
@@russianmegabot5272 back then Sauber isn't that bad. And Minardi at least gave Alonso a car he can step on the gas. Sauber C44 couldn't
Senna on Toleman and Lauda on March to talk about legends, to some steps below (and a couple of years ahead) we have Danny Ric in that HRT dogshit, Russell at Williams (in his first 2 years with them, their car were absolutely terrible) and so on
Saving this video for later but wanted to stop by and send love, abundance and happiness to Law, his family and everyone in the community. Hope you all have a prosperous november!
i hope the same for you as well!
I am happy for Bortoletto and I am happy in general that there will be so many Rookies next year.
Colapinto should stay at Williams as a reserve imo and hope for a seat there for next year. To go to the RB universe could be very risky.
Bottas would be a perfect WEC driver imo, because he is such a good teamplayer. And there are some interesting new projects like Aston Martin or Hyundai coming.
I would like to see him together with Nicki Thiim in the Valkyrie :D
would absolutely love to see bottas and ricciardo in aussie supercars...could you imagine the beauty of seeing those two caress the car up the fabled mountain?
This must be one of the youngest grids ever?
4 Drivers in their 30's, with Carlos just reaching that. And a bunch in mid 20's or lower.
It’s like a clean slate old ones out new ones in except hulkenberg is not new
Hulk will bring experience
he’s earnt his place though unlike the other veterans. and thats how it should be. your place on the grid shouldnt be a given and i think this is a good thing
@@eizzah8323 and Bottas cant? When is the last time the Hulk was in a team fighting for a WDC?
A waste of talent.
Bottas should go to WEC, hes fast consistent, a team player and probably has a lot of mechanical sympathy.
I keep saying F2 Champions like Felipe Drugovic and Theo Pourchaire should get an automatic opportunity in F1..
not without money
@Pato-ARG they're both part of Driver's Academy. Most F2 contenders have backing from an F1 team
whilst Felipe is no doubt a great driver it took him 3 seasons in f2 to win the championship... Bortoletto won f3 in his first year and now en route to win f2 in his first year also. Just food for thought, it's not a great mystery as to why he's getting fast tracked with his talent. There's simply better and younger drivers out there to pick from..that being said it's a real shame and unfair for both Felipe and Theo's prime years to be wasted sitting on the sidelines. I hope they get a chance at some stage.
@@EnfvntTerrible fair enough logic but don't they deserve it more than Doohan and Antonelli? I think Antonelli is gonna take yearssss to develop and is more likely to fold under the pressure and lose his seat before he has the chance to mature into F1..
@@abcdetheridge absolutely agree with the sentiment that they deserve it equally if not more than Doohan and Antonelli. Just my justification for Bortoleto and his brilliance! I can sorta understand why Alpine went with Doohan from their academy, still odd considering he has had a relatively average junior career thus far. I agree with you on Antonelli also, i think he will be under immense pressure at a front running team, especially with Toto breathing down his neck in hopes that he'll be Mercedes' saving grace and possibly the next Verstappen...recipe for disaster? 🤔
I think Mattia wasn't really that fond of having one seat already occupied by someone his predecessor signed. I think if Seidl didn't sign his buddy Hülkenberg already in like April, we would've seen Bottas and Bortoleto for next season. Especially because Hülkenberg got a really long contract for someone that wasn't really sought after by any other team and is already 37 years old. Yes he isn't doing that bad right now but signing a driver into his fourties is wild for someone who isn't a world champion. Also imo Bottas is a faster driver than Hülkenberg.
I'm gutted that Bottas is gone (at least for now). I love this guy's personality and losing him and Ricciardo in the same year stings a lot. I think he will go back to Mercedes as a reserve driver in case that F1 comes too soon for Antonelli and Toto is forced to sub someone else in until Kimi is ready. But i don't think that will really happen. But i could see a door opening at Alpine as i'm not really sold on Doohan. Let's see.
Saying that Gabriel didn't have his peak moments in F2 is an understatement. Where have you been in Monza, for the love of god?!!
6:27 in regard of that, the brazilian F1 fans that are deep into the sport understand that the car is not good and it needs time and patience to develop. Those ones are already saying that in social media to let the casual ones know and not expect too much right off the start
Bortoleto is another Max Verstappen - his record setting drive in F2 from last (22nd) to 1st against all drivers, in the same car, is the stuff of legend. Monza F2 2024. The first time it's ever been done in the history of F2. The race is worth watching.
The guy is a serious talent.
He got lucky with the timing of safety cars.
Don't do that... Let him prove himself without all the baggage of "being another whoever"
Picking Bortoleto is a great move, and dropping Bottas a necessary step to getting there. But picking Nico over Bottas? Barking. Bottas/Bortoleto would be a much better line-up. I guess Nico's popularity and fame over here in Germany turned Audi's head.
Nah Hulkenburg is better than bottas
Hulkenberg has been incredible recently
That’s not fair on Nico to lose his seat to bottas not based on reputation
Bottas has a bigger cost than Nico.
appreciate your content man. love your insights.
Extremely harsh on Bottas. Hes been on average half a second faster than Zhou this season. Honestly don't know what much more he can do
I knew Zhou would never make it to another season, but was unsure about Bottas until I saw the absolute tension when they changed Bottas' race engineer without warning and his vague aimless answers to where are you going after that, that came pretty hard after that. I hope he can be reserve if that's an option or what he wants. Its been a rough season at Sauber but its been clear to me in his case, that he's tried to do what he could in that car, but it's been the new Williams now, back of the line.
Zhou wasn't so bad when he first came in. He even managed to match Bottas at some races. And he even looked more consistent than a guy like Stroll. Obviously, having a better car has made Stroll look better, though I doubt their driving skill are really that far apart.
Bottas is a solid driver who def deserves to stay on the grid. But he is getting older and isn't going to be winning a championship in his lifetime, so a lot of teams just don't put much stock in a driver like that. The trend seems to be investing in younger guys with potential, or veterans who have proven to be race winners. And Bottas doesn't fit into either category. Hulkenberg is an exception to that rule. And even Hulk hasn't been looking that great recently. KMag has been driving better at the last few races and Bearman has shown to have similar pace, albeit a bit more incident prone. But Bearman is a rookie so it's kind of expected.
Bottas has won 10 races and got 67 podiums and twice runner up to being a Formula 1 champion (2019/2020) and thus is a veteran who has proven to be a race winner. Hulkenberg has no race wins and no podiums and his best season result was 7th.
Hulkenberg won't last at Audi next to Gabriel. Hope Mick gets to replace whatever driver flops next season.
Race winner Heikki Kovalainen 6 seasons in F1 (Finland), 2004 Race of Champions winner entered the chat
Have to disagree on the Binotto thing, am I the only one that remembers certain terrible strategy decisions? 🤷♀️
he won't do any strategy, that's for wheatley, from 2026 Binotto will do technical stuff behind the scnenes
strategy was bad there long before he was in charge. Just ask Massa about ‘08.
Now he's a free agent he can go 2 any team he wants, if I were him redbull 2026, and all car manufacturing teams in f1 r just pissed that a non car manufacturer is kicking there butt's in racing.
Now that Audi is no longer a project of German pride aiming for wins in '26, I'm glad they put Valtteri out of his misery. Something tells me that Hulk will not be willing to prolong his contract either. Excited to see Bottas in rally, WEC or Indycar. Or cycling.
At least Valtteri gets his farewell, unlike Ricciardo. Hope he gets to do some doughnuts in AD.
I respect Audi for being patient when it comes to their progression. It seems like a reasonable project.
@@LawVS from what I've seen/heard, VW group is one bad fiscal year away from pulling out of F1 and there are no news on their 2026 engine project (while RBPT and Mercs report first successes). At this rate they might sell to Aramco (or Andretti) before 2025 ends.
@@va1korion
Ralf Bach has announced that Audi will sell the majority of its shares to Qatar. I don't know if there is any truth to that. Time will tell.
Beginning the video with *that* song was like a shock to the system. A collision of two worlds
Fred going from Sauber to Ferrari has to be one of the biggest upgrades in recent memory in F1
You're the best Law! Keep on being awesome!
With the VW group not doing well right now, I see Audi pulling the plug before they even begin their season.
0:00 I know it’s probably not but this feels like a reference to the end of DBZA. I used to be addicted to dbza and found your f1 channel after years of not seeing you and very happy to see a familiar face, these are my adult versions of your what if videos
Max already said that someone should put Borteleto in a F1 seat!
@LawVS I love your content! I think Sauber isn't the best environment right now, and next year might not be much better. It’s not just about the car-it’s the team dynamics that worry me. There's a real risk they could burn out Bortoleto. While you say there are no expectations, I disagree; if he’s slower than Hulk or causes significant damage, that could be a big issue. Meanwhile, Hulk has nothing to prove. For Bottas, a break might even be beneficial, especially with all the rookies(not all of them will succeed) and potential changes for 2026. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year shakes up the whole driver lineup, possibly opening doors at bigger teams that might look for experience.
Doohan and Bortaletto need to thank Colapinto because hes given credit to the belief in non F2 champions can succeed. Especially after nobody believed it would work after the Sargeant disaster..
Love to see one more team...damn, let Andretti race. More seats, more racing to watch
Welcome to f1 Bortoleto ❤❤❤
its too bad Colapinto did not get that seat. Hopefully something else will open up for Colapinto in 2025, however being a reserve driver for Williams may ultimately be good for his career. Clearly the writing is on the wall for Albon due to the fact that Williams brought Colapinto in.
While there may be no bunjee clause there may well be a year end or following year end option. i.e. keep Bortoleto but only on an annual basis.
I do not think McLaren will give up the chance to have him in future. It's better for them to let him get experience on track.
What do you think is going to happen to our boy Drogovich? Is he staying as a forever reserve driver for Astroll Martin?
Im praying in 2025 there will be enough other investors to finnally put pressure on to get stroll out. Cus daddy stroll has sold a lot of the company and cus aston now have a say as does newey.
Nice to see Laws wish of a Brazilian back on the grid came true sooner than later
I think everyone is forgetting Maclaren still have Pato O'ward .. he is the official reserve driver so if either Lando or Oscar go to another team they still have him
Finnish fans now have to wait for Tuukka Taponen or Marcus Amand 🤞🏼🇫🇮
Couldn't agree more. Refreshing to see all the teams investing in youth for a change. We just need Red Bull to follow suit now.
Law, I think the NEW Formula 2 cars have REALLY helped the rookies. If Logan had been able to drive those cars it would of helped him. No denying Logan just didn't have that cut throat attitude honestly. I also think Formula 2 should add a few more races to their calendar.
Great video
As much as i like Valterri, Sauber is clearly his last moment as driver like Raikkonen, and tbh am glad to see him wearing again the silver arrows suit even if its as reserve driver(he is one of my fav mercedes driver, mostly due to videogames, the driver i played the most in his merc time, ecen more than Rosberg or Hamilton), now lets enjoy his last races that end up not like Daniel, suddenly and immediatly.
To be honest it seems to me like Audi might just simply pull out before 2026 if they see nothing change in the first 6 months of the season leaving Sauber to sell out to anyone willing buy it.
Zhou is only in F1 thanks to cash. Have to say he is a reasonably diplomatic person and he is not as being hated as Stroll.
I'm excited for the rookies next season and I think this is for the best, but Bottas constantly being derided for being 23/20 is getting old now. Yes, it IS a ridiculous stat but nobody is scoring anything in that rubbish car, especially when the organisation behind it are just coasting until Audi take over and have seemingly no respect/interest for the drivers. When the car was better in 2022, Bottas was scoring good points and Zhou was also often decent.
I just don't think this point-less scorecard can be held against either driver, especially when chances early in the season were torpedoed by reliability and embarassing pitstops. One thing I don't see being mentioned in their defence is that they at least aren't constantly binning cars and racking up bills like the Williams drivers and people like Stroll. If the car was regularly capable of troubling the lower end of the points then we could get a true representation of the current drivers but we can't. There's no way Bottas suddenly lost everything he had that fast.
All of that said, I am looking forward to the arrival of the new drivers next season and the clearout of the stale grid. Lance needs to to next and also (as much as I like him) Perez unless he can have a miraculous revival.
I hate that immediately heard Perfect Cell's voice in the intro lmao
Bottas has 10 race wins, 20 pole positions and 67 podiums... What bet that Lando Norris never matches this record?
I honestly feel that since Bottas bleached his hair blonde it's affected his driving and confidence.
firstly, Sauber / Audi is a mess. they were wishy washy in full commitment to F1 by being majority stake holders and then changed their minds and decided to become a works team. their management is just slightly better than that of Alpine, which is a total disaster. secondly, Sauber /Audi must have known with their terrible car and performances that paying Bettas 10 million was not going to be viable and was surely on the lookout for a replacement for Valteri months ago. a works team would not nurture a driver on loan from Maclaren and I am sure they were negotiating that either having Borteletto be fully released or they would look elsewhere. On the Maclaren side, they wanted to ensure that Lando and Oscar was going to be able to work together and was probably negotiating with Sauber regarding compensation for their young drivers release. It's similar to Colapinto not being already signed to Red Bull teams as Williams negotiates his full release to Red Bull. Red Bull certainly would not want a driver on loan as well. Bettas is likely going to move back to Mercedes as a reserved driver next year hoping for a seat in 2026. Furthermore, why would a works team want 2 mid to late thirties drivers in their lineup as they ramp up to 2026. that would make no sense. thereby, even Binotto when he came on was surely the demise of Bettas from the team.
Right now, Sauber is a waste of grid slots. They aren't even trying. It's like a game on maintenance mode.
Ferrari academy junior Tuukka Taponen might be next flying Finn for F1, currently set for full season in F3 2025
regarding haas.... i dont think bearman is going to set the world alight with his driving at least for a bit more years. he lacks that capability to drive the car. maybe its a thing of confidence, who knows. it feels to me its more like the british bias that pushed for him to be on the grid, just because he didnt bin the ferrari in vegas last year.
Sorry but how would British bias make Ferrari get him a seat?
I agree with you that I don't expect him to set the world alight. He definitely did well in his races, if you ask me comparable to Lawson who so many people want in Red Bull right now. But I just don't think Ferrari has the same future prospect as the other top teams.
@@DeathBlocks british media have tried their best to put him in the spotlight whenever they get the chance, compared to other drivers. and to be frank, its a bit absurd that they try to put another british driver into the grid , when they already have 3. its not like they lack representation.
i dont think lawson is cut to be in the Red bull seat just yet either. leaving aside the coments that checo should be kicked out.
well about the ferrari bit... i cant say much about it...
dude i’m having an existential crisis i just realized LawVS is Masako from DBZ Abridged or just looks exactly the same
Not having Liam on the grid next year is an absolute crime.
He is guaranteed a seat, its just a matter of which team he is in.
Bortoletto to Sauber is a good move from Sauber. It is to be seen if it was a good move for Bortoletto. Remember Stoffel Vandoorn at McLaren.
Pretty sure Theo will probably do wec possibly with Peugeot since nico Muller is leaving
Law, you should use something that is close to Richard verschoor wit for sure, you almost pronounce it exactly the same way.
Ricciardo, Bottas and (soon) Perez
F1 is healing
I better not hear any Bottas slander here
Now this thumbnail looks like Hulk licking his lips for Gabi
The 2025 grid is looking very good, there is only one guy that doesnt deserve to be there, you know who he is
Doohan is the polar bear meme, gutted Drugo and Theo are withou team...
Hulk is literally lesser Bottas and that's the joke here.
I cant believe Kick is allowed to be a sponsor after what happened with them, shows you how much its about the money with F1.
For some reason I though it was 2022 again, but Gabriel is a good prospect
I’m incredibly sad bottas is off the grid while drivers like stroll and Perez are still on it
you mean like stroll and the current sub champion?
loads of rookies get a chance now, RNG will be more of a factor upcoming 2 years. Some rookies we praise will fall.
Bottas will still hold on to the worlds fastest Mullet.
Its zhouver
And Bottas is Finished.
One of the very few mention of Zhou (naming him) in all the comments. Where are the Chinese fans?
Theo did some testing with Peugeot Le Mans Hypercar in Bahrain, so it seems WEC might be in cards for Theo
I agree. He was terrible in Indycar in his few races their. WEC will do him better
Bottas, you are another example of the early to mid 2010 drivers being passed over by both older established and younger exciting drivers. At least you had a solid career with 10 wins and plenty of poles and podiums!
Colapinto’s manager just said that from 1 to 10 he has a 20 in terms of racing in F1 next year 🤞
thats a lie, she said " he is going to be in f1 next year " she didnt say anything about racing
Is that a Perfect Cell reference at the beginning?
excited to see Bortoleto but definitely sucks we most likely will never see a comeback story for Mick Schumacher. Great driver but got put into a terrible team with a terrible car (at the time) and never got to show his true potential.
yeah he is soooo good that no team in f1 wants him ,cmon he is only there because he is a schumacher
@@Pato-ARGcan we be realistic, this narrative that Mick was trash is bizarre. he’s shown glimpses of being a good racer and a great #2 but never had a decent car to do anything worthwhile like ever when he was at HAAS.
Agreed, you dont need Bottas if you got Hulk. Plus, while Bottas is super reliable and quick in qualifying, he is by far the worst when it comes to defending positions and overtaking.
Hulkenberg is good at developing cars, while Bortoleto is one of the hottest prospects right now. Poor Mr. Ass really doesn't bring that much to the team, other than experience (which is also covered by Hulkenberg). He's not a bad driver at all, but he just doesn't have much more to offer to the F1.
As for Zhou, he should be happy that his career lasted as long as it did. He wasn't terrible, just nothing special.
So many Italian sirnames in 2025 but only one is from Italy
Sacking Bottas is akin to saying you no longer eat porridge.
Porchaire is like the Neville Longbottom of the F1 world.
It time for McLaren to let Lando go
Teddy Chairs needs to come back to the states for another season.
No, they did not. Audi is in the building phase and two veteran drivers are way better for that than one and a rookie.
Im not sure about the project. If the rumors are true, there will be no Audi Team. In name only. It is rumored that Qatar bought the team and will use the Audi name as a licence. Because VW is in its biggest crisis and closing down 3 factorys doesnt go along with founding a billion € F1 team
... So Bottas to red bull, to make that camp even more convoluted?
they can both drive very well
We have at least maybe 5 rookies next year
Can we petition Channel 4 to have you instead of Steve Jones?