Axed F1 star RETURNS in 'home' statement

valtteri bottas, zhou guanyu, daniel ricciardo, yuki tsunoda, sauber, rb, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Axed F1 star RETURNS in 'home' statement

Valtteri Bottas no longer has a full-time race seat in Formula 1 from 2025

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 22 February 2025 16:58

An axed Formula 1 star has expressed joy as he returns to a former team after failing to secure a full-time race seat ahead of the 2025 season.

With less than a month to go until the season-opening grand prix, all 10 teams and their drivers are preparing their full lineup for the grueling championship campaign that lies ahead.

F1 HEADLINES: Horner statement issued as major F1 exit announcement made

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Thanks to Lewis Hamilton's blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari, only two teams on the 2025 grid are running the same driver lineup as last season.

Constructors' champions McLaren have put their trust once again in the stellar driver duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Aston Martin have also chosen to retain Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

After Hamilton's shock exit from the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff opted to promote the team's junior driver Kimi Antonelli into his first full-time seat in the pinnacle of motorsport, where the 18-year-old will partner George Russell.

Valtteri Bottas has returned to Mercedes for 2025 as a reserve driver

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli complete Mercedes' 2025 driver lineup

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Mercedes welcome Bottas 'home'

To complete their lineup, Wolff welcomed Hamilton's former team-mate Valtteri Bottas back to the Brackley-based outfit with his knowledge and expertise a key factor in recruiting him to assist Antonelli as he learns the ropes in his rookie season.

Ahead of Bottas' honorary home grand prix in Melbourne on March 16, Mercedes have taken to Instagram to share a lighthearted video where Bottas can be seen lapping up the perks of his return, clearly excited to be back with the outfit.

Although the contract may not see him race full-time again in 2025, Bottas' return to Mercedes was a much-needed move after three years of fighting at the back of the pack with Sauber.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Christian Horner 2025 season