Valtteri Bottas gives a thumb up to fans during an F1 drivers’ parade (Image: Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Valtteri Bottas, who recently lost his spot on the Formula 1 grid, has signed up for next March’s Race of Champions. Sauber has replaced the Finnish driver with an entirely new line-up for 2025, featuring rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and veteran racer .
Despite losing his seat, Bottas will still be seen in racing action next March in Australia. A week before the F1 season kicks off in Melbourne, he will be competing at the Race of Champions in Sydney, approximately 500 miles to the north-east.
The last two editions of the event took place on a snow and ice track in northern Sweden, but the 2025 race will be held on a specially-built asphalt track inside Sydney’s Accor Stadium, which can hold 83,500 spectators. This will be Bottas’ second time competing in the competition, having previously formed a formidable Finnish duo with two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen in 2023.
The team event is scheduled for Friday, March 7, followed by the individual competition the next day. The 35-year-old won’t be the only big name vying for the ‘Champion of Champions’ title.
Retired four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who will once again represent Germany alongside Mick Schumacher, has also been confirmed for the competition. Schumacher, like Bottas, missed out on a seat on the 2025 grid.
Sebastian Vettel smiles while wearing a white T-shirt during an event at the Brazilian Grand Prix (Image: Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Rally legend and past winner Sebastien Loeb, Australian Supercars record champion Jamie Whincup, and rallycross icon Johan Kristoffersson are among the big names who have signed up for the event. However, a British entry has yet to be confirmed.
Last time, former F1 racer David Coulthard drove for the United Kingdom alongside three-time W Series winner Jamie Chadwick. Bottas, who has been adopted as an honorary Australian in recent years, will be a popular contestant in Sydney.
His relationship with the country was first boosted through his girlfriend, Tiffany Cromwell, a professional road and gravel cyclist who was born and grew up in the suburbs of Adelaide. He further endeared himself to fans Down Under with his mullet haircut, by drinking VB beer which is produced in Melbourne, and with a hilarious promotional video for Uber Rideshare earlier this year, in which he showed fans around his ‘car’ – a Holden Ute pickup – which had a series of unusual Australia-themed add-ons.
Despite signing up for the Race of Champions, the 10-time F1 race-winner has no interest in giving up his career in the top motorsport category in the world just yet. It is understood that Bottas is likely to return to as a reserve driver following his Sauber exit, with a view to getting back onto the grid in the future.