Mercedes point to secret value of Valtteri Bottas which TV cameras won't see

Mercedes have detailed what Valtteri Bottas has brought to the team in his reserve driver role.

Bottas, who won 10 grands prix for Mercedes when he drove for the Silver Arrows between 2017 and 2021 where he raced alongside seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, returned to the Brackley outfit as reserve driver for the 2025 season after losing his Sauber seat at the end of last year.

The 35-year-old Finn has embedded himself into Mercedes on race weekends, where he has not only acted as a back-up for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, but also taken part in engineering meetings, carried out simulator work, and even got involved in the team’s social media videos.

Bottas’ experience has proven invaluable to Mercedes, while it has also helped Antonelli during his rookie F1 campaign.

“It's been fantastic having him back in the family at Mercedes,” Mercedes communications chief and team representative Bradley Lord told select media including Crash.net at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“Obviously he was a cherished member of the team when he drove for us and bringing him back he's been able to bring his experience, his insight, his expert eye on the race weekend, not just for Kimi and around that but also for the engineers and offering perspective, drivers’ perspective and things like that on a number of different things we've had that.

“We've had work in the simulator as well, so some of the work he's done there has been very valuable and TPC testing and keeping him fresh and sharp driving an F1 car but also performing that role too.

“Although it's not the performance priority, he's brought his lightness and sense of humour into the team, how we can communicate but also working with our partners and sponsors as well he's been a good part of sharing that workload.

“Knowing that again, that is a big adjustment for a rookie driver so having Valtteri there has been an important part of helping Kimi integrate into the world of F1 and adjust to it and cope with its demands too.”

Mercedes support Valtteri Bottas’ quest to return full-time

Bottas is eyeing a full-time seat to return to racing in F1 and Mercedes are backing him in his quest, though they would be happy to retain his services in 2026.

“We know Valtteri's priority is to try and find a race seat for 2026. He's eminently qualified to do that and I'd say a front-running candidate in that regard as well,” Lord explained.

“If that doesn't happen for whatever reason then I'm sure we'll be very open to looking at how we can continue together.

“But we know his priority is to do that and we hope that in hindsight we'll have been able to be a platform for him to achieve that goal as well.”

Bottas has been tipped to sign for the new Cadillac team when they enter F1 in 2026, potentially alongside former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.