Bottas irritated after arrival of new engineer: 'Wasn't my decision'

Preparations for Audi's entry in Formula 1 are in full swing. It was announced at the end of April that Nico Hulkenberg will drive for Stake F1 Team from next year [i.e. Audi from 2026]. A second driver is still being sought, but other changes besides the drivers are already underway within the team. For example, Valtteri Bottas has a new engineer from this race weekend in Miami.

All eyes are on 2026 at the team that will become Audi by then. New engine regulations are being introduced and many changes are planned within the team. For instance, the team would not want to continue with both Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas. Indeed, besides Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz also seems to be an option for Audi, although the Spaniard has turned down the German team's offer, according to the latest rumours.

Bottas irritated over change engineer

Bottas will have a new engineer from this race weekend. When the Finn was asked about why the team made a change, he replied, "I think that's more of a question for the team. It was quite a sudden change. It's a sprint weekend, so working with someone new won't be easy, but I'm trying to make the best of it. He gets a lot of support, but yes, it's quite a sudden change." Bottas did not know about the change up until yesterday.

Commenting on whether he was happy about the change, Bottas replied, "I think it is part of rebuilding the team. Some people are leaving, some people are joining and, of course, a lot of those decisions are not in my hands. I don't make those decisions."