ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Valtteri Bottas will end his tenure at Mercedes at the end of the year and head to Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2022 Formula 1 season as part of a multi-year agreement.
The nine-time Grand Prix winner has spent the last five years driving for Mercedes as a teammate to seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton. Bottas replaces Kimi Raikkonen, who announced plans to retire from Formula 1 competition last week.
“A new chapter in my racing career is opening: I’m excited to join Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN for 2022 and beyond for what is going to be a new challenge with an iconic manufacturer,” Bottas said. “Alfa Romeo is a brand that needs no introduction, they have written some great pages of Formula One history and it’s going to be an honour to represent this marque. The potential of the setup in Hinwil is clear and I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance. I’m grateful for the trust the team has put in me and I cannot wait to repay their faith: I’m as hungry as ever to race for results and, when the time comes, for wins. I know Fred [Vasseur] well and I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team I am going to work with, building relationships as strong as the ones I have at Mercedes. I am proud of what I have achieved in Brackley and I am fully focused on finishing the job as we fight for another world championship, but I am also looking forward to the new challenges that await me next year.”
Bottas debuted in Formula 1 in 2013 with Williams before he joined Mercedes in 2017. He helped Mercedes earn four constructors’ titles and earned his first race win during the 2017 Russian Grand Prix. He has earned 54 podiums thus far during his time with Mercedes.
With his departure from Mercedes confirmed, it is growing more and more likely that George Russell will head to Mercedes beginning next season. That agreement has not been formally announced.