There comes a time for any sportsperson when he hangs up his boots and makes way for the newer generation to take his place. At 35 years of age, Sebastian Vettel had taken this step as he had exited F1 after an illustrious career with 4 World Championship wins. Now, Valtteri Bottas is nearing the same age at which Vettel had stepped down from his role as an F1 racer. But the Finn does not want to slow down even though he has scored zero points to date in the current 2024 season. Even after spending a long time in the pinnacle of motorsports with 10 Grand Prix wins, Bottas wants to go on for more.

Till 2021, Valtteri Bottas was a top recruit for Mercedes—one of the leading teams in the F1 field. At that time, he had been aiming for Championships and had even become the runner-up behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton a couple of times. But the situation made a 180° turn as Bottas joined the Sauber F1 team (previously called Alfa Romeo) in 2022. He was no longer racing for Grand Prix victories, and he stayed at the back of the field. And now, his team’s situation is such that it is lagging at the lowermost spot on the Constructors’ Championship table with 0 points to its name.

Speaking on behalf of Valtteri Bottas, F1 analyst Tom Coronel sympathized with how the Finn has had a fall from grace. He said in his column for Formule1, “We can expect more from a driver like Valtteri Bottas. It’s always difficult when you go from the best team to the worst team.” However, Coronel also believes that Bottas’ time in F1 has run out. So, he made a brutal comment: “I’d rather have a young talent get the chance there. Bottas just has to stop, it’s done! Zero World Cup points, get out!”

Thus, Tom Coronel’s stance on Valtteri Bottas’ current situation in Formula 1 remains clear: he should get out and give the seat to a deserving junior driver who could take the Audi seat when the German manufacturer completes its takeover of Sauber for the 2026 season. But who should be the person who gets to succeed Bottas?

Tom Coronel picks a surprising candidate as Valtteri Bottas’ replacement

At the moment, there are many junior racers waiting on the sidelines to grab a seat in Formula 1. While luck shone on Oliver Bearman as Haas picked him up, the same cannot be said for Brazilian talent Felipe Drugovich. Currently, a test driver for Aston Martin, the 24-year-old has won the 2018 Euroformula Open series as well as the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship. But even then, he has not debuted in F1 because of a lack of seats.

So, Tom Coronel believes Drugovich should be the one to step inside the pinnacle of when Valtteri Bottas bids goodbye to his F1 seat. The Briton said, “Do something different. Go and do fun things in Finland or record funny videos and give this seat to someone else who needs it to gain experience and grow. Now he is destroying the careers of youth. Why doesn’t a Felipe Drugovich drive Formula 1?”

Well, Drugovich is not the first pick that comes to mind to take the Sauber seat if Valtteri Bottas retires before 2025. F2 racer Zane Maloney is the current reserve driver for the Swiss team and thus, he might get that spot. But do you think Bottas will pay heed to Coronel’s advice and decide to retire from F1 anytime soon?