Valtteri Bottas Opens Up on Possibility of Rally Racing After F1

If there’s one driver holding an unenviable position in F1 right now, it’s Valtteri Bottas. Although the Finn races for one of the most dominant teams in the sport’s recent history, his future with them remains an uncertainty.

While various options exist for Bottas, both inside and away from Formula One, he is yet to get any form of clarity. Ahead of the British Grand Prix, the 31-year-old admitted taking up rallying is an option that isn’t out of the woods as yet.

Valtteri Bottas believes he can take up rallying in the future

Although the Finn has 92 points from nine races this season, he hasn’t been as impressive as previous seasons. In fact, Bottas trails Lando Norris by 12 points in the driver’s standings which no one expected at the beginning of the season.

His struggles have put his Mercedes seat in jeopardy, with Williams driver George Russell waiting in the wings. The Briton impressed many with his performances so far and almost scored points in both races at Austria.

Despite Russell’s rise, Bottas remains confident of keeping his seat in 2022. However, should he lose his seat, he admitted he could seek a career in rallying should he not find a suitable F1 team.

When asked by The Race, he said, “I don’t know. Rally, I really enjoy. It’s really good fun every time I’ve been in a rally car. I’ve been always smiling, so it’s good fun, but to actually make a job out of it could be quite tricky. The [rally specialist] guys are pretty competitive, they’ve done it all their life.”

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Bottas: Full focus is Formula One at the moment

While the rumors do the rounds, Bottas admitted his focus is on Formula One. In addition, he admitted he still has a few good years left in the pinnacle of motor sport.

“For some reason, if not, I would look at other options in Formula 1, of course, because I love Formula 1, I enjoy it. I still think I have quite a good few years ahead of me,” said Bottas. “Never say never but at the moment full focus is Formula 1 and first of all, this [British GP] weekend.”

With the British Grand Prix this weekend, Bottas will look to build on his podium finish in Austria. Will the Finn do enough to keep his seat for the 2022 F1 season? Only time will tell.

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