{"id":21942,"date":"2024-07-12T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=21942"},"modified":"2024-07-12T08:00:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T12:00:29","slug":"williams-turn-to-valtteri-bottas-as-sainz-option-evaporates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/07\/12\/williams-turn-to-valtteri-bottas-as-sainz-option-evaporates\/","title":{"rendered":"Williams turn to Valtteri Bottas as Sainz option evaporates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valtteri Bottas could make a return to Williams next year as negotiations with the team steadily advance<\/strong>. Since the beginning of the season, it has been clear that retaining Bottas is not a priority at Sauber. Because of this, Bottas has spoken with several midfield outfits – although it is understood that Williams is his most likely destination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contract talks are made more difficult by uncompetitive machinery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The drivers’ standings do not paint a flattering picture for Valtteri Bottas. The Finn is rock bottom in the Championship, one of three drivers yet to score a point this season<\/strong>. In a very uncompetitive C44 machine, this year’s campaign has been difficult for the 10-time race winner.<\/p>\n

On the rare occasions he’s been within touching distance of points (Australia, China), operational mistakes from Sauber have proven costly. This is a recurring theme for the Swiss team, who also threw away significant points with their far more competitive 2022 challenger.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Sauber’s lack of performance has implications for contract negotiations<\/a>. Whilst F1 teams have a memory beyond the last six months, it would be disingenuous to suggest that recent bias is not a factor in contract negotiations.<\/p>\n

As a result, being in the worst car on the grid – on paper – puts Bottas at a major disadvantage. If the 34-year-old were in a package capable of regular points, negotiations would undoubtedly be easier<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, on the grid; 2024 British Grand Prix, Formula One World Championship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Williams interest in Valtteri Bottas has grown<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite driving in uncompetitive machinery, there is strong interest in Bottas. The former Mercedes<\/a> driver is an experienced pair of hands, more than capable of competing at a high level.<\/p>\n

Like many others in the midfield, Bottas has been waiting for Carlos Sainz’s decision. As the most in-demand driver available, Sainz is widely seen as the next major domino to fall.<\/p>\n

However, this is already changing. The Spaniard is taking months to sign a 2025 contract – too long for the likes of Williams. Team principal James Vowles<\/a> has already praised the 29-year-old and clearly expressed his interest in Sainz.<\/p>\n

If the Grove-based project does not convince the Ferrari driver enough to make a commitment, then Vowles cannot wait forever<\/strong>. Because of this, Valtteri Bottas is seen as the favourite to race alongside Alex Albon<\/a> next season.<\/p>\n

Negotiations are understood to have already begun. While nothing is confirmed, it would take a dramatic turn of events for the Finn to be displaced as the British team’s leading candidate.<\/p>\n

Bottas would complete a very solid driver partnership at Williams. Someone with his experience and accomplishments would also emphasise the team’s seriousness and ambition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valtteri Bottas could make a return to Williams next year as negotiations with the team steadily advance. Since the beginning of the season, it has been clear that retaining Bottas is not a priority at Sauber. Because of this, Bottas has spoken with several midfield outfits – although it is understood that Williams is his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":21944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[343,68,465,225,94],"class_list":["post-21942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-f1","tag-f1-news","tag-valtteri-bottas","tag-williams"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}