Formula 1 News: Bottas hints he's staying at Mercedes in 2026

(GMM) 35-year-old Finn Valtteri Bottas has dropped a big hint that he may be staying with Mercedes in 2026.

Bottas lost his Sauber seat at the end of last year, returning to Mercedes as full-time reserve driver in 2025.

Bottas, who won 10 grands prix as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, had been linked with the all-new eleventh F1 team Cadillac for 2026.

However, he now indicates that he is in fact poised to head into the Mercedes simulator at Brackley next week specifically to prepare for the 2026 season – featuring all-new and radically-different power unit and chassis regulations.

If Bottas really is still in the running for a Cadillac seat, it would seem unlikely that Mercedes would allow him to gain early insight into the team’s 2026 plans – especially as the marque is expected to dominate with its power unit.

“I was supposed to do it two weeks ago,” Bottas told Soy Motor in Barcelona, “but the simulator wasn’t working.

“I have a simulator day next week,” he revealed. “It will probably be my first time doing some work for 2026 and understanding what the differences are with 2025.”