Is Bottas racing for McLaren or Williams? In 2025, this could be possible!

The last season of Formula 1 showed how important it is to have good reserve drivers. Oliver Bearman was allowed to step in three times (coincidentally) after the respective drivers from Ferrari and Haas suddenly became unavailable in 2024, delivering great performances in all three Grand Prix. For the next season, drivers are also available to replace him, and Mercedes' new reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, is one of them. But perhaps the Finn will even appear on behalf of McLaren or Williams in 2025.

In 2024, Mercedes had an agreement with client teams McLaren and Williams that a reserve driver from the German team could be used in case of emergency, these being Mick Schumacher and Frederik Vesti. In the end, these teams didn't need to resort to Mercedes and its reserve drivers.

There is no concrete agreement between Mercedes and the two client teams, McLaren and Williams, for 2025. However, GPblog learned that, should these teams knock on Toto Wolff's door, Mercedes would probably be willing to help these teams. Next season, Mercedes will have Vesti again, as well as Valtteri Bottas, as their reserve drivers for 2025.

McLaren and Williams don't have permanent reserves (yet)

McLaren has Pato O'Ward as a reserve driver in 2025, but the Mexican also has his commitments in the IndyCar series, so he won't be available for all the Grand Prix. Williams, as far as is known, does not currently have a reserve driver in its ranks.

By the way, it's important to note that Bottas or Vesti are not permanent reserve drivers for McLaren or Williams, it can only be spoken of as a loan to help these teams out of trouble.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy

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