Valtteri Bottas makes 'challenging' admission: 'It's not an easy role'

Valtteri Bottas has shared how "challenging" he found life as an F1 reserve driver during his season away from a full-time race seat.

The Cadillac driver spent 2025 on the sidelines after losing his Stake driver at the end of the previous year, but kept active in F1 by playing a supporting role to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.

His former team-mate, Zhou Guanyu, who is the reserve driver at the fledgling American team this campaign, has previously spoken about how mentally tough he found backing up Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari last year.

When those remarks were put to Bottas, the 10-time grand prix winner agreed. He told media, including RacingNews365: "It's not an easy role, absolutely.

"Especially if you have been racing in Formula 1, and then you're in a reserve role, and especially if you still have the hunger to be a driver; watching everyone is not easy.

"But in this sport is always good to stay within the sport, and I had a great opportunity last year to stay with a decent team, with a decent programme for the whole year.

"So it was, in the end, the right thing to do for me. But yeah, it is hard if you've been racing, and then once you step out, it's not the same, and it's challenging."

Bottas: 'I didn't have much catching up to do'

Sergio Perez, who partners the Finnish driver in the other MAC-26, spent the year outside F1 instead, following his dismissal from Red Bull at the end of 2024.

Recently, Mario Andretti — the 1978 F1 drivers' champion, of whom the first Cadillac chassis is named after — claimed the pair were "rusty" upon their return to racing.

The six-time grand prix winner responded directly to those comments. Meanwhile, Bottas, who did not have Andretti's words put to him, explained why remaining within F1 helped him stay ready for the current campaign.

"What was a good thing for me last year was that I still had to train to be ready to jump in the car at any time, so it felt like I didn't have much catching up to do over the winter," the 36-year-old said.

"But yes, focused a bit more on the gym work rather than just cycling, but nothing fundamentally new or different to what I've done in the past.

"I had to work a bit more at the gym, and I've been feeling fine in the car, and I feel like these cars are also physically a little bit less demanding than in the past, at least for now, with less downforce.

"But again, cars will develop. Cars will get faster, so it will get harder and harder."