Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas is willing to consider racing in other series after his time in Formula 1 is over, but it would need to be something much less time consuming.
The Finn started his F1 career in 2013 with Williams, and he went on to race with the British side for another three years after that alongside Felipe Massa.
Bottas got his move to Mercedes in 2017 after the shock retirement of newly crowned world champion, Nico Rosberg, and he spent five seasons there with Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Results were perennially demanded from the now 33-year-old, who was only ever given one-year contracts by team principal, Toto Wolff.
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He took 10 wins in total for the Silver Arrows, the last of which arriving at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix, and having had another tiresome one-year deal put in front of him, he decided to move on to Alfa Romeo.
Bottas left Mercedes having helped the team to five consecutive Constructors’ Championships, and he now has a different role at Alfa Romeo.
The Nastola-born driver has been somewhat of a mentor to rookie team-mate Zhou Guanyu, and the pair have built up a good relationship this season.
Everyone at the Hinwil base has been pushing together to help get the Sauber Group closer to the front, and Bottas feels more of a personable atmosphere with his current team, as opposed to the corporate one he experiences with Mercedes.
“It is an environment with less pressure, the context in which I am now is less ‘company’ and more racing team, but everyone’s motivation is the same,” he told the Italian edition of Motorpsport.com.
The Alfa Romeo man would welcome new racing challenges after he leaves F1, but any new ventures he undertakes would have to give him a more flexible lifestyle.
“I am absolutely open to any challenge, I love to drive, and I could find motivation in many other contexts,” explained Bottas.
“I believe that the day my adventure in Formula 1 ends I will continue to drive in other championships, the only condition will be to find something that guarantees me more free time.”
Bottas also suggested that he is enjoying his current mentorship role more than he did his time with the eight-time champions.
“It was a natural transition, considering my teammate is a rookie, obviously during the season he asked me a lot and I was happy to be able to help,” he explained.
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“Regarding my role in the team, coming from Mercedes I made available what I learned in a top team and it was gratifying for me to be able to do my part and make myself available to the team.”
Alfa Romeo will part ways with Sauber at the end of next season, before Audi is expected to start buying shares in preparation for their complete buyout of the team in 2026.
Bottas’ deal with the Swiss side also runs until the end of 2023.