Bottas insists ‘I’m not done yet’ after final Sauber race

Valtteri Bottas has insisted he is "not done yet" in Formula 1 after he failed to finish his final race for Kick Sauber in Abu Dhabi, while his team mate Zhou Guanyu limped home 13th.

With Kick Sauber opting for a whole new driver line up in 2025, Bottas and Zhou both knew this was a chance to leave a lasting impression, and one that might see them come back into contention for race seats in the future.

But for Bottas, his race went downhill on the very first lap. After a brilliant qualifying that saw him start ninth, he got tangled up behind some cars, before finding himself in the midst of a ‘three into one’ situation that saw him make contact with Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. As well as picking up damage and dropping places, he was handed a 10-second time penalty.

“Definitely not the ideal finish but these things happen, it’s racing,” Bottas said. “Not the first time, everything just went wrong since Lap 1.

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“The incident, then I got a penalty for it, then I was at the back out of position and later on, got together with Kevin [Magnussen]. It was my bad, I was defending with old tyres and I tried to brake as late as I could but I just couldn’t stop the car.”

The second incident saw Bottas collide heavily with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, damaging the Kick Sauber too badly to continue. Not only did Bottas have to retire in his final race, he was then hit with the ignominy of a five-place grid drop for his next outing – should that ever occur.

The Finn believes it will, stating after the Grand Prix that “this is not the way I want to finish, which is why I’m not done yet.”

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As for his team mate, Zhou’s race also got off to a bad start – literally, when he was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start. That, combined with a lowly grid slot, meant he came home outside the points. But like Bottas, he doesn’t think this is the end of his Formula 1 story.

“My emotion is a bit different to some of the others probably, because I feel for where I am now, and what I was able to show when I had the car to do so, I still have a chance or possibility to come back, if not next year then in 2026,” said Zhou.

“I’m waiting for the moment and I don’t think it is finished business yet in Formula 1 so let’s see, [going to] get myself fully prepared for the comeback.”