VALTTERI BOTTAS ‘SURPRISED’ BY NICO HULKENBERG DEAL AS F1 FUTURE UPDATE PROVIDED

Valtteri Bottas doesn’t know what, if any, impact Nico Hulkenberg’s signing will have on his future but it’s clear either he or Zhou Guanyu are out of a job at the end of the year.

Stake, who will be rebranded as Audi in 2026, announced earlier this week they’d signed Hulkenberg for the 2025 championship with the German joining the team on a multi-year contract.

Valtteri Bottas talking to ‘multiple teams’

The announcement came at a time when it has been widely speculated that Carlos Sainz would join the team, leaving both Bottas and his team-mate without a ride.

However, Sainz is said to have turned down Audi despite a mega-bucks offer as he wants to wait to see what happens at Red Bull and Mercedes.

In the meantime, Bottas is contemplating his future in Formula 1 after the chance of staying with the team was slashed to 50/50.

“Of course, the timing is quite early and a little bit surprising, but the driver market is starting to move, obviously, and it also kind of makes sense,” he told the media in Miami.

“He’s German, and Audi has made it pretty clear that they want a German driver, so it’s all good. Let’s see what happens next.”

As for what Hulkenberg’s signing means for him, the Finn doesn’t yet know but revealed he has been speaking with rival teams.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Obviously, speaking to multiple teams, some talks have advanced more than the others. So we’ll see.”

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Hulkenberg’s signing is just the latest big-name announcement for a team that is preparing to be rebranded as Audi in 2026 with the German manufacturer having already taken full control of the F1 team.

“I think it says that things are changing,” said Bottas. “You know, there’s change happening.

“Obviously, some changes are for the long term. I don’t obviously know all the reasons behind every decision that, like I said, is being made.

“But it just tells that, yeah, change is happening. People are leaving. People are coming in. That’s about it.”

Stake will line up on the Miami Sprint grid on Saturday chasing their first point of the championship, one of three teams yet to score.

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2024-05-03T08:42:06Z dg43tfdfdgfd