Formulation 1’s sport of driver musical chairs is winding down.
Did one of many remaining gamers in that sport simply give away his spot for 2025?
As we wrote lately, solely 4 seats stay unconfirmed for the subsequent F1 season. One is the second seat at Mercedes, the one which Lewis Hamilton will vacate on the finish of this season when he makes his transfer to Ferrari. Younger phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli has lengthy been linked to that seat.
One other is the seat at Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly. Whereas Alpine made a late push for Carlos Sainz Jr.’s providers, his resolution to signal with Williams has the French-based group pivoting, and Jack Doohan and Mick Schumacher are choices there.
The third seat nonetheless out there for subsequent 12 months is the second seat at Visa Money App RB F1 Workforce. Whereas the group inked Yuki Tsunoda for one more 12 months earlier this season, Daniel Ricciardo’s standing stays doubtful for 2025. Will Ricciardo do sufficient over the remainder of this season to maintain that spot, or will Liam Lawson earn a promotion from his present reserve position?
Lastly, there may be the second seat at Sauber. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are the 2 drivers at Sauber proper now, however with the group changing into the Audi works operation in 2026 they’ve already signed Nico Hülkenberg as a driver for subsequent 12 months and past.
Nothing definitive has come from Sauber relating to the second seat, they usually have been linked with a number of choices together with each Bottas and Zhou, in addition to Schumacher, however did Bottas simply give a giant trace at who that driver shall be?
Posting on Instagram Tales the motive force shared a couple of pictures from a racetrack, tagging Hyland, a cloud-based expertise service that’s one in every of Sauber’s companions.
Among the many photographs? A picture of an Audi — one which seems to be a personalized Audi R8 GT — with Bottas’ emblem and quantity on it:
![BottasAudi](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/m7mYLbCp0oMf-rlYLACzLLoSpWA=/0x0:1170x2092/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1170x2092):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25571461/BottasAudi.jpg)
Now, this could possibly be nothing or an harmless connection. Possibly Bottas simply likes the automobile a lot that he needed one for himself? This may be a part of a promotional sequence for Hyland, as their identify is on the Audi R8 as nicely.
Or possibly Bottas is driving at a giant bit of reports that shall be unveiled shortly.