F1 star tipped to SIGN for Audi F1 project 'against all odds'

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Audi F1

F1 star tipped to SIGN for Audi F1 project 'against all odds'

Valtteri Bottas was a former team-mate of Lewis Hamilton

Kevin McKenna

Friday 2 August 2024 13:43 Updated: 17:57

Audi's Formula 1 project has been tipped to sign a 10-time race winner 'against all odds' ahead of the team's entry to the grid in 2026.

Following the announcement that Carlos Sainz will join Williams next season, just four spots remain up for grabs as drivers across the grid fight for their Formula 1 futures.

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With the 2024 campaign now hurtling towards its final conclusion, drivers currently without a seat for next season are running out of time to impress potential suitors.

One man determined to prove he deserves another chance at the pinnacle of motorsport is Sauber star Valtteri Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas has yet to score a point for Sauber this season

Audi will replace Sauber on the grid in 2026

Audi F1 tipped to sign Valtteri Bottas

The Finn - who previously drove alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes - is out of contract at Sauber at the end of this season, and has been under pressure after enduring a dismal campaign with the Swiss outfit.

Neither he nor his team-mate Zhou Guanyu have scored a point so far in 2024, and with Nico Hulkenberg already confirmed as one of the drivers for next year, both face an uncertain future.

However, one F1 journalist has now predicted Bottas will renew his contract with the team ahead of Audi's takeover in 2026.

Speaking on The Race F1 Podcast, Scott Mitchell-Malm explained: “It strikes me as quite likely that Bottas, against all odds really if we think where it was at a few weeks ago, will renew there,"

Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are fighting for their F1 futures

Mitchell-Malm added that Mattia Binotto's recent appointment at Audi could also play a major role in Bottas extending his stay with Kick Sauber, who will become Audi.

“He is an absolute no-brainer now, and it’s now likely," he continued.

"I still sincerely think if there hadn’t been the leadership change - if Andreas Seidl was still there, Binotto hadn’t come in, and this news still came out today, I wouldn’t be as confident sitting here on this podcast and saying Bottas will still sign.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Carlos Sainz Williams Audi