It seems like ever since Valtteri Bottas was taken off the team, Lewis Hamilton has not been doing as well. After being fed up with the car’s being slow at Mercedes, Hamilton decided to make a change. The 7-time world champion has left a huge hole in Mercedes after his sudden decision to move to Ferrari. Now, it’s up to Toto Wolff to find a new driver for the seat and work towards being competitive again. For now, it’s clear that the gap between Mercedes and the top 3 teams is quite significant. The world is currently waiting to see what Wolff does to bring Mercedes back to winning races.

In a recent podcast of F1 Nation, Tom Clarkson sat down with Natalie Pinkham and Christian Menath to discuss all the recent events within Formula 1. During this, they reveal one of the best candidates for Mercedes in 2025. Clarkson gives a detailed explanation of what the team is up to and suggests a workaround before Kimi Antonelli makes his way to the grid.

Valtteri Bottas returns to Mercedes

Tom Clarkson had an insight to share on what is going on within Mercedes. He mentioned, “The talk in China last weekend is that Antonelli is going to be in the second Williams alongside Alex Albon from the summer break onwards. He turns 18 at the end of August. I think, fully enough, Williams are actually asking the FIA for special dispensation. You know, Max drove a Formula 1 car, and raced in Formula 1 aged 17. Why can’t any, Kimi Antonelli?”

Ultimately, explaining that Antonelli will not get the same treatment Clarkson stated, “But I think the rules are now set, and I don’t think there will be a dispensation. So I see Antonelli in the Williams second half of the season, replacing Logan Sargeant. And then I think James Vowles won’t settle for anything less than 18 months. So Mercedes is going to be looking for a one-year stopgap. In my book, that doesn’t appeal to Carlos Sainz. He’s going to want a longer-term contract than that.”

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Clarkson finally revealed, “So I wonder where the Bottas could be that stopgap for Mercedes in 2025. He knows the team very well, he’s won ten races, and it’ll be a much better option for him than anything else that’s on the table. So if Botta ends up at Mercedes, then I think Sainz’s options become Red Bull or Audi.” With this, he explains how Valtteri Bottas is a great candidate to take a Mercedes seat until Antonelli is ready for the taking.

But is Valtteri Bottas a good idea?

Why not! He is probably one of the most underrated drivers on the grid currently. Let’s not forget that he is the 6th highest points-scoring driver of all time with 1,797 in his bag. Driving for Mercedes could even help him get ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. What many people don’t see is that he is the only nonworld champion to score more points than retired world champion Nico Rosberg.

Sure, he finished 15th in the drivers championship in 2023, but his team was in transition from Alfa Romeo to Stake F1 Team anyway. A year before that, even in an Alfa Romeo, he came in 10th in the drivers championship, proving that he can put some serious work into his racing. While he was replaced in Mercedes by Valtteri Bottas, it’s impossible to forget that it was with his partnership that Lewis Hamilton won most of his world champion titles.

So is Valtteri Bottas a good driver? Stats sure say so, and his experience with the team only makes him a great candidate to hold the seat for Kimi Antonelli. Ultimately, it’s how the drivers perform and the team principal to decide. Considering everything we know about Bottas, do you think he deserves the Mercedes seat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.