Bottas running for McLaren or Williams? In 2025, it might be possible!

Last season in Formula 1, it showed how important it is to have good reserve drivers. Oliver Bearman was allowed to step in three times (coincidentally) after respective Ferrari and Haas drivers were suddenly unavailable in 2024, with fine performances coming in all three Grands Prix. Next season too, drivers are on standby to fill in, with new Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas being one of them. But perhaps the Finn will even feature on behalf of McLaren or Williams in 2025.

In 2024, Mercedes had an agreement with customer teams McLaren and Williams that a reserve driver from the German team could be used in case of an emergency, with those two being Mick Schumacher and Frederik Vesti. In the end, these teams did not have to call on Mercedes and their reserve drivers.

There is no such concrete agreement between Mercedes and the two customer teams, McLaren and Williams, for 2025. But, GPblog has learned that if these teams were to knock on Toto Wolff's door, Mercedes would probably be open to helping those teams out. Next season, Mercedes has Vesti again, as well as Valtteri Bottas as their reserve drivers for 2025.

McLaren has Pato O'Ward as a reserve driver in 2025, but the Mexican also has his commitments in IndyCar, so he will not be available for every Grand Prix. Williams, as far as is known, do not have a reserve driver currently in their ranks.

Incidentally, it is important to note that Bottas or Vesti are not the permanent reserve drivers of McLaren or Williams, there could only be talk of a loan-out to help those teams out of trouble.

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