Valtteri Bottas is heading into his final race in F1… for now (Image: Getty)
has revealed that he got some favourable treatment in qualifying for the after picking up the £4,100 bill for the annual driver dinner, which was attended by 17 of the 20 F1 stars.
Only and the two Aston Martin drivers were absent from the driver dinner, which took place after Thursday’s media duties. In 2024, organised the meal and it was Bottas who picked up the tab.
Fortunately for the Sauber driver, there were some unexpected benefits. “I think it was worth it,” he said on Saturday. “In Q1 I got some nice tows from some people on the back straight – so I think it was definitely worth it…”
The good karma translated into Q3, too. After reaching the final part of qualifying for the first time in the 2024 season, Bottas placed his Sauber machine onto the fifth row of the grid after a P9 classification.
Bottas now has the opportunity to wrap up what could be his final season as an F1 driver with his first points of the season. Team-mate opened Sauber’s account for the 2024 campaign last time out in Qatar with a P8 finish, and now it could be the 35-year-old’s turn.
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Valtteri Bottas starts from inside the top 10 on Sunday (Image: Getty)
Whether he scores points on Sunday or not, Bottas will look back on his time with the Hinwil squad with regret. He told the Finnish publication : “Absolutely not. If I could go back three years, I would have gone somewhere else. Unfortunately, that’s how it is.
“This was a big mistake, but it’s hard to predict these things in advance. That first year with Vasseur was a good thing. The team spirit was good and the results were quite good. The last two seasons have been a bit of a downhill slide all the time. Of course, that affects my image as a driver. If you can’t show results, people kind of forget your name.
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“This season has undoubtedly been quite scary. When we set goals with [Fred] Vasseur in 2022 and how to achieve them, we had a clear plan. But after he left, all the goals and plans went to the scrap heap. Since then, it has been significantly more challenging.”
Bottas isn’t the only driver waving goodbye to F1 at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP. Team-mate Zhou has also failed to secure a new seat for 2025, while is moving into sportscar racing with BMW. This also looks set to be Franco Colapinto’s final bout, although the Argentinian star has a good chance of returning to the grid in the future.