Second time a Sauber driver gets a penalty without a seat in F1

Five-place grid penalty

Bottas joined Sauber in 2022, after winning five constructors' titles in a row for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton as his teammate. While Bottas believes he has driven one of his strongest seasons, the Finnish driver was unable to find a seat for 2025. His now former team will continue with Nico Hulkenberg and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto.

Bottas received a penalty for colliding with Kevin Magnussen during the Abu Dhabi GP. This collision caused him to retire his car, thus preventing him from finishing the race. As he could not finish the race or serve a time penalty, the FIA gave him a five-place grid penalty for when he next drives. The issue with that is that Bottas does not have a seat for next year. Nothing has been announced despite rumours that he is going to Mercedes as a reserve driver. 

This was not the only collision Bottas caused, as he was also deemed at fault for an earlier collision with Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez. Perez was unable to finish his race because of the incident and had to immediately retire his car at the beginning of the race.

It is not the first time a driver received this season that a driver without a permanent seat for the next event got a penalty when driving a Sauber. Robert Shwartzman received a five-place grid penalty during his FP1 outing in Mexico City.

Bottas reacts

"Oh damn!" was the Finnish driver's reaction to the penalty. He would rather look for a compromise. "Oh no! That's not ideal. Maybe I can ask them if they can change it to a fine. I would pay the fine," Bottas added.