Valtteri Bottas is about to depart his function because the Mercedes reserve driver on the finish of the season as he makes a transfer to the Cadillac System 1 workforce in 2026.Â
Bottas, having beforehand raced for Mercedes from 2017 to 2021, returned to the Brackley outfit in 2024 after shedding his seat at Sauber. The Finnish driver has turn into a fan favorite for his enjoyable and sarcastic humour, and this has continued by means of to the ultimate F1 Explains video he has executed for Mercedes.
“Hello everybody, that is leaving an F1 workforce defined,” he stated to the digicam as he pretended to wipe away tears from his eyes, “by Valtteri Bottas.”
“In F1, leaving an F1 workforce clearly will occur finally. It is fairly unhappy. I’ve executed it just a few instances in my profession. It is not simple. However, in case you assume positively, ultimately, there’s 11 groups within the paddock subsequent yr. So we’re all one massive household and we’re going to see one another once more.”
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The video cuts to a montage of the driving force hugging varied members of the workforce accompanied by operatic music.
“One custom as properly is while you depart a workforce in System 1, after the race in Abu Dhabi, you are going to find yourself within the marina, swimming, whether or not you prefer it or not,” he added.
“Leaving a workforce isn’t simple. I simply need to say thanks, Mercedes.”
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Because the video fades to black, it cuts to a close-up of the Finn with the cameraman explaining they will want him to return the watch and workforce equipment. The video as soon as once more cuts to a slow-motion montage of a few of Bottas’s finest bits as a reserve driver with the identical emotional music.
Bottas will be part of the incoming Cadillac F1 workforce in 2026 alongside former Crimson Bull driver Sergio Perez because the American outfit turns into the eleventh workforce on the grid.
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