Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has pinpointed Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes’ “arse” saver, ought to Kimi Antonelli wrestle.
For 2025, Bottas has returned to Mercedes in a reserve position after being changed at Stake F1.
The Hinwil-based crew opted to interchange each Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for the upcoming marketing campaign, with Nico Hulkenberg and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bottas departed Mercedes for a seat at Sauber on the finish of the controversial 2021 season, with the German producer now being in a really totally different place.
That’s because of the outfit now not having Lewis Hamilton, who has been changed by its teenage sensation Antonelli.
George Russell will initially lead the Silver Arrows, to permit the younger Italian to settle.
Antonelli holds an unimaginable quantity of expectation on his shoulders, with many anticipating him to be the subsequent Max Verstappen
Due to this, Montoya believes Bottas has been re-signed by Mercedes in case the stress is an excessive amount of for Antonelli to deal with.
“Kimi Antonelli is on the opposite facet of the coin, within the highlight in among the finest groups on the market with a team-mate who’s doing a mega job,” Montoya instructed CasasDeApuestas.guess.
“And also you’re being offered as the subsequent Max Verstappen. If he doesn’t ship, that is powerful.
“My studying is that with [Valtteri] Bottas, Mercedes could be overlaying their arse.
“He’s a security internet to have any individual in case it doesn’t work with Antonelli and he is aware of that.”
Supporting Antonelli
Being a reserve driver isn’t what Bottas really desires, with the Finn eager to return to the F1 grid as quickly as potential.
His greatest likelihood shall be at Cadillac in 2026, who’ve two seats to fill for when it joins the grid subsequent 12 months when the brand new energy unit rules are launched.
By way of his position with Mercedes, Bottas recognises that watching the races from the Brackley-based crew’s storage shall be “painful”.
Nonetheless, even the 35-year-old recognises how essential his expertise shall be to Antonelli’s enchancment.
“I feel it could possibly be tough, could possibly be painful, as a result of I simply wish to race, however I feel I can nonetheless contribute quite a bit to the crew with my expertise,” Bottas told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.
“They will even have a rookie driver becoming a member of, who will want some assist. I simply have to preserve busy, I assume, and preserve giving all of the data I’ve. And, yeah, that is the way in which to go.”
