Bottas says he "could see" himself linking up with Verstappen at Red Bull

Valtteri Bottas has said that he "could see" himself driving alongside Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

The Kick Sauber driver will leave his current team at the end of the season, with Nico Hulkenberg and F2 leader Gabriel Bortoleto replacing their current line-up of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for 2025.

Meanwhile, Red Bull has struggled to find a consistent second driver for Verstappen with Sergio Perez enduring another difficult season as he sits eighth in the championship with 152 points - compared to his team-mate's haul of 403 on the way to a fourth consecutive title.

It has left Red Bull third in the Constructors' Championship with 555 points, trailing both McLaren (608 points) and Ferrari (584) with races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi left.

Quizzed whether he would consider a move to Red Bull, Bottas said: “You know, I could see myself filling that role. I’m really confident I would do a good job, but for now the answer has been no.

“I think there’s certain people or a certain person within the organisation that is against me for some reason, but that’s their loss.”

#whatsnext pic.twitter.com/vt4cs6VAGl

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) November 27, 2024

Red Bull had also announced earlier this year that Mexican driver Perez will stay at the team till the end of the next season.

It leaves an unfilled seat at RB as Bottas' only realistic option for next season, while a reserve driver role at his former team Mercedes might also be up for grabs after the recent departure of Mick Schumacher.

Bottas was part of the Mercedes set-up between 2017 and 2021 as they won five consecutive Constructors' Championships, with the Finn winning 10 races and playing a key role in Lewis Hamilton's four title wins during the period.

“Obviously really honoured that [Toto Wolff] would be willing to take me back to the Mercedes family, which is great. It’s a really solid option for me for the future," said Bottas, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix.

“Of course, there’s still many details we’ve got to discuss, like how much I would actually get to drive because I want to drive, whether it’s about testing and stuff like that. We’re discussing but there’s no need to rush.”

Bottas has 67 podiums from 244 races since beginning his F1 career with Williams in 2013.