According to the man himself, Mercedes-AMG F1’s Valtteri Bottas had no idea there were discussions about a possible Andretti takeover of the Sauber-run Alfa Romeo team when he agreed to race for them come next year. It’s safe to say, he’s not too thrilled about being left out of that conversation.
Bottas will leave Mercedes after this season, clearing the way for Williams’ star George Russell to give Lewis Hamilton a run for his money come 2022. Still, the Finn was promised a leadership role within Alfa Romeo F1, which is probably why he didn’t appreciate finding out about the possible takeover until earlier this week, reports Autosport.
That’s when word got out that Andretti was closing in on a deal to grab a majority stake in the Islero Investments company, which owns Sauber, that in turn runs the Alfa Romeo-branded F1 outfit.
Speaking during a press event at the Circuit of the Americas, Bottas confirmed that he “wasn’t aware during negotiations about it [the possible takeover].”
“And to be honest, I don’t know much details – if there’s actually a big chance of that happening or not,” he added. “But I’m sure the people who will make the decision, they will know what is going to be the best for the team in [the] long term.”
He also said that he doesn’t have much to say in terms of who owns the team, but as long as the right people are in place, he’s still hopeful they’ll be able to do a good job come 2022.
When asked whether he would welcome Andretti in Formula 1 as the new owner of Alfa Romeo, Bottas simply replied: “why not?” before adding that “obviously, as a driver for the team in the future... […] it would be nice to know a bit more about the plans for the future. But yeah I mean, why not?”
That’s when word got out that Andretti was closing in on a deal to grab a majority stake in the Islero Investments company, which owns Sauber, that in turn runs the Alfa Romeo-branded F1 outfit.
Speaking during a press event at the Circuit of the Americas, Bottas confirmed that he “wasn’t aware during negotiations about it [the possible takeover].”
“And to be honest, I don’t know much details – if there’s actually a big chance of that happening or not,” he added. “But I’m sure the people who will make the decision, they will know what is going to be the best for the team in [the] long term.”
He also said that he doesn’t have much to say in terms of who owns the team, but as long as the right people are in place, he’s still hopeful they’ll be able to do a good job come 2022.
When asked whether he would welcome Andretti in Formula 1 as the new owner of Alfa Romeo, Bottas simply replied: “why not?” before adding that “obviously, as a driver for the team in the future... […] it would be nice to know a bit more about the plans for the future. But yeah I mean, why not?”