Valtteri Bottas sees Fernando Alonso as “an outlier” in F1 but feels there is no reason why he cannot continue in the sport beyond his 40s like the two-time champion.
At 34, Bottas is eight years Alonso’s junior, and although he may not have savoured title glory like the Spaniard, his 10 grand prix wins have all come during a period of time when the Aston Martin driver has been winless, with his last triumph in 2013.
After a two-year break following a period of disillusionment with F1, Alonso returned, displaying a commendable hunger, pace and race craft that have made him an inspiration for Bottas, who is enduring a lean period with Alfa Romeo.
Bottas is adamant he has so much more to offer than is presently the case given the uncompetitive nature of his car.
“If you look at Fernando, he’s now a good example of what you can do and still perform,” said Bottas, in an interview with Speedcafe.
“I still have many years. Of course, in this sport you always need to prove yourself with results.
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“And that’s also now my motivation, to try and get good results, to maximise everything every weekend and also work hard with the team off the track.”
Alonso, though, is proving revelatory for Bottas.
“He’s perhaps an outlier,” added Bottas. “It’s not been done many times in this sport that you can still be super competitive at that age.
“Every person is different, every driver is different, but, as I say, he’s maybe a bit of an outlier.
“But he’s still quite motivating to see that and definitely an example.”
Although away from the sharp end of F1 after being released by Mercedes at the end of 2021, Bottas has no doubt he is fit enough, both mentally in terms of his own race pedigree, and physically to continue for many years.
“I feel like I’m definitely not going down yet,” said Bottas.
“In this sport, once you get to this stage where you have lots of experience, then that can also be quite attractive for many teams in certain situations.”
The problem for Bottas is that he and the team find themselves in a transitional period.
It is another two years before Audi comes on board for the first time in F1 as the German manufacturing giant takes advantage of the new power unit regulations.
Between now and then, it is a case of playing a waiting game whilst the team rebuilds, under the leadership of Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl, to ensure it hits the ground running in 2026.
“There have been a few structural changes,” said Bottas.
“It took some time for Andreas to discover what this team really needs, what is going to be the long-term plan, and now he’s starting to put the plan together.
“Obviously, the results of all these changes they are going to be shown, perhaps not next year, but in two, three, four years.”
As to whether Bottas is a patient man, he replied: “Yes and no. With certain things, yes.
“Waiting until ’26 to be back on the podium, yes, I’m happy to wait for that.”
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