Valtteri Bottas will no longer be driving in Formula One after the conclusion of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi. In an announcement posted yesterday morning it was confirmed that Bottas and his teammate Zhou Guanyu are set to make their F1 exits. Kick Sauber has opted for veteran driver experience in Nico Hulkenberg and adding in rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto.
Rumors have been flying around surrounding Bottas’ racing career and whether or not he would be making the switch. Over the past couple of months multiple different sources have discussed IndyCar as a good fit for Bottas. This of course would be if his F1 career were to come to a premature end. Most notably, Ted Kravitz was once quoted saying that Bottas to IndyCar is a “very likely” option. Bottas himself has said that he isn’t interested in going to IndyCar unless he has a shot at the championship.
💬: “Plan B would be IndyCar”
– Valtteri Bottas speaking on his racing future. #IndyCar
pic.twitter.com/iowa2tW7pe— IndyCar Hub (@IndyCarHub) September 12, 2024
Seats Available for Bottas in 2025:
Dale Coyne Racing
If Bottas is looking to represent Honda an option he has would be to go to Dale Coyne Racing. As of right now, Dale Coyne has both seats open for the 2025 season. However, despite the multiple drivers that have raced for the team in the 2024 season alone, the car has struggled to get to the top ten, let alone podium positions.
On the other side of things, Dale Coyne is essentially going to be starting from scratch next season driver wise. With both seats up for grabs it wouldn’t be unlikely for the team to sign Bottas. He would be able to bring a boatload of experience with over 10 years of racing under his belt. From a competitive perspective, Dale Coyne hasn’t been one of the top teams. They could serve as a stepping stone into the series for Bottas or maybe he’ll be the driver to get that car to P1.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Keeping within the Honda family for a moment another team Bottas could sign with is RLL Racing. The only driver confirmed for RLL at this point is Louis Foster. Foster has experience racing in Indy NXT but has yet to participate in the NTT IndyCar series. It would be a bit of a gamble for RLL to sign both Foster and Bottas. This is due to their lack of involvement in the series. This isn’t all bad though, with Foster being the 2024 Indy NXT champion he’s earned his spot as a full-time driver.
The driver pairing could align with what Sauber is attempting to achieve in F1. Bottas would be able to be that veteran driver for the team while Foster is the fresh face. RLL’s drivers all had fairly strong race finishes last year. The highest being Christian Lundgaard who was P3 at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
If Bottas were to drive for a team powered by Chevrolet one of his only options would be driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Since their introduction to IndyCar in 2017 Juncos Hollinger hasn’t seen much success. They haven’t had any wins at the Indy 500, secured pole position or won a race in general. While racing for the team wouldn’t be the ideal spot for Bottas who made it clear he wants to fight for championships, Juncos Hollinger did sign former F1 driver Romain Grosjean. Based off that, the team could provide a good transition into the series but it’s unlikely Bottas would be willing to sign with them.
Andretti Global, Bottas’ best choice:
Now let’s say Bottas abandons being a full-time driver for the season and just tried to dip his toes in the water when it comes to racing in IndyCar, then the ideal team for him to sign with would be Andretti Global. Once again, Andretti is a team that’s become home to a former F1 driver with Marcus Ericsson. Andretti is still looking for a driver to race with them part-time and compete in six races during the season. Racing part-time in IndyCar could take away some of the pressure to perform at an extremely high level fresh out of the gate for Bottas.
There are roughly five months left until the 2025 IndyCar season kicks off at the Streets of St. Petersburg but just like the cars on track, time moves quickly. Whether he gets behind the wheel or not it will be interesting to see where such a coveted driver like Bottas will end up.
