Bottas to mark Mercedes return in build-up to Australian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas is set for a return to the cockpit of Mercedes machinery in early March as part of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, event organisers have announced.

Bottas re-joined Mercedes as their F1 reserve driver for the 2025 season after losing his seat at Kick Sauber – the 35-year-old Finn providing valuable support and back-up to full-time racers George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli.

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He previously spent five seasons at the Silver Arrows, scoring 10 Grand Prix wins and contributing to an unprecedented run of Constructors’ title success alongside Lewis Hamilton, who recently made the switch to Ferrari.

Bottas, who is an ambassador for the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, will drive the DTM race-winning Mercedes 190E in the Touring Car Legends category on Sunday, March 9 – a week before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking when his Mercedes comeback was confirmed last month, after three up-and-down seasons at Sauber’s operation, Bottas said: “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.

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“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.”

A host of other F1 personalities are due to appear at the Adelaide event, including Australian stars Alan Jones (1980 champion) and David Brabham, 1996 champion Damon Hill, multiple Grand Prix winner Thierry Boutsen, former team boss Guenther Steiner and F1 commentator David Croft.