Mercedes has announced that Valtteri Bottas will return to the team as a reserve driver for the 2025 season.

This comes after Bottas and Sauber parted ways following the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the team opted for a complete new 2025 line-up with Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.

The Finnish driver previously raced for Mercedes from 2017 to 2021, where he achieved all 10 of his career wins and 20 pole positions.

After leaving the Silver Arrows, Bottas joined Sauber (then known as Alfa Romeo) for the 2022 season. His time with the team had its ups and downs, with a strong 10th-place finish in 2022 but a disappointing 2024 where he failed to score any points and overall labeled this move as a ‘mistake’.

In his reserve role, Bottas will attend most races, supporting the team and their drivers, George Russell and debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Bottas said: “I’m happy to finally answer the question I’ve posed over the past month.

“Returning home to the Mercedes family as third driver for 2025 is what’s next and I couldn’t be more pleased. I want to thank Toto, the team at Brackley, and everyone at the three-pointed star for welcoming me back with open arms. 

“Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know that I’ve still got so much more to contribute to F1. Since I was a five-year-old kid growing up in Nastola, Finland, my focus has been on achieving success in the top tier of motorsport. 

“I’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed many incredible moments in my 12 years of racing in F1 so far. 

“As I return to the place where so many of those moments were achieved, I’m looking forward to using all the knowledge I’ve gained to help the team to perform and progress towards our goal of fighting for world championships.”