On Wednesday, Sauber officially confirmed that the line-up will be completely changed next year: the last vacancy in Formula 1 next year will be filled by Gabriel Bortoleto.
As the Swiss team is going through a period of transformation into an Audi factory project, betting on the young and promising Brazilian is a logical choice, especially since Bortoleto will be teammate of the most experienced Nico Hulkenberg, from whom he will have a lot. learn.
And in Formula 1 there will be no Finnish drivers for the first time in the last 36 years, because in 1989 Jay-Jay Lehto made his debut in the world championship, then Mika Hakkinen and Mika Salo joined him in different years, then came the time of Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen and in 2013 Valtteri Bottas. But now this period is coming to an end, but Mika Salo is confident that Finnish fans won’t have to wait too long before their compatriot appears in F1 again.
“Of course it is sad that Valtteri will no longer drive in Formula 1 next year, but it was still expected,” Salo responded on the pages of the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat. “But Valtteri’s career lasted surprisingly long. However, it is unlikely that Finland will be without a driver for long, as Tuukka Taponen is progressing very quickly.
If we think realistically, there will be no more Finns in F1 for at least two seasons, but if Taponen continues to progress, he will succeed. He receives good financial support and all opportunities are open to him. Personally, I have no doubt that he has the potential to reach the top category of motorsport.
The fact that Bottas’ F1 career is coming to an end is not a disaster at all. Finland will still remind itself of that, especially because Taponen is not the only talented young racer, so our country has good prospects.”
Valtteri Bottas’ best performances over the years of his career remain two second places in the individual competition: in 2019 and 2020. He became vice world champion when he played for Mercedes, where he was Lewis Hamilton’s teammate. And there is already talk that he will return to this team next year as a reserve driver, and he himself does not rule out such a development, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
