Valtteri Bottas responds to Alfa Romeo’s Audi distraction

Additional reporting by Sam Hall

Valtteri Bottas is confident Alfa Romeo will not be distracted by its Audi future over the next 12 months.

Sauber will end its sponsorship arrangement with Alfa Romeo at the end of 2023 ahead of becoming the Audi factory team when the new power unit regulations come into force for 2026.

The backing of a major manufacturer has led to expectations rising to unseen levels within the team since its partnership with BMW that ran from 2006 to 2009.

Speaking in an end-of-season interview with GPFans, Bottas was asked how the atmosphere had changed, to which he replied: “Everyone has understood that for this team it’s a great opportunity in the future, which definitely gives good stability.

“Once everything was announced, everyone talked about it, and then it was like ‘Okay, back to work, and let’s focus for this year and next year’ because, obviously, next year nothing changes, we’re still Alfa Romeo.”

Despite Bottas’ claims, Audi is already having an effect as Andreas Seidl has been lured from his role as McLaren team principal to join as Sauber CEO.

This move, although not directly instigated by Audi, has been praised by the automotive giant.

Bottas added: “Everyone still feels like that Audi thing is quite far away but everyone feels it’s positive in the future.”