Bottas sees trend caused by Verstappen, but will it last?
F1 News
- Savannah Lenz
After skipping F2 and heading straight into the Red Bull junior team of Toro Rosso, Max Verstappen was only 17 when he joined the world of Formula 1. This, Valtteri Bottas says, is what inspired a change in the current Formula 1 grid today.
Speaking to Motorsport-Week, Valtteri Bottas touched on the ages of the current Formula 1 driver. With five rookies joining the grid, the newest drivers coming in are fairly young. One of the rookies, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, was also only 17 when he was being looked at for Formula 1.
Bottas on the current 'age' trend in F1
Bottas mentioned, “There is a bit of a trend now for the rookies and newcomers." This trend could be in relation to two things. Firstly, the rise of Max Verstappen and secondly, the new regulations that will start in 2026. Speaking of 2026, Bottas said, "I think next year we’ll also see how well all of them are going to be doing".
He said, “At the moment there’s more preferred opinions for the rookies than experience". With the upcoming regulation changes, many teams are using 2025 to train their rookies before the changes take effect. Antonelli was signed to Mercedes over other options like Carlos Sainz or even Bottas. Bottas is without a permanent seat for the 2025 F1 season after being let go by Sauber, who brought in rookie Gabriel Bortoleto for the 2025 season.
Bottas has previously driven for Mercedes and will be rejoining the family as a reserve driver. The Finnish F1 driver said that while there seems to be a trend going on, “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Only time will tell.”
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