Bottas to Alfa Romeo before 2022? 'It's a completely new car'

At the end of this season Valtteri Bottas will leave Mercedes and make the switch to Alfa Romeo, where he will be the replacement for Kimi Raikkonen. The plan was to drive for the Swiss team from 2022, but now Fred Vasseur is trying to get the Finn to join the team before then.

After Abu Dhabi the teams will have test days with the new 2022 tyres. After this season the teams will drive with 18-inch tyres and Alfa Romeo wants to give Bottas some time to get used to the new car. For this they do need permission from Mercedes, as the Finn will still be under contract to the world champions at that time.

Valtteri already in Alfa Romeo colours for 2022?

However, Vasseur expects that it shouldn't cause any problems, he explains to The Race."We have spoken to Valtteri several times now and we are in discussions with Mercedes to put him in the car for Abu Dhabi. It's a completely new car next year and for some systems it's important that we can test things, even if you already have a simulator on which to do that."

"It will be important to get his feedback with how we are proceeding. It will also be good for him to work with the team and get everything started. This is the perfect opportunity to start doing that. We have a good relationship with Mercedes and with Valtteri. For me it is therefore important that we get this through," Vasseur concluded hopefully.