Valtteri Bottas sends open application to Red Bull

Valtteri Bottas maintains Red Bull know he is "keen to race" in F1 next season, and believes the team may need a driver "with experience" alongside Max Verstappen.

The Mercedes test and reserve driver, who is enduring his first year not in a full-time F1 seat since his debut campaign for Williams in 2013, acknowledged he does not know the Milton Keynes-based squad's "mindset" on his availability. He has also been closely linked with the fledgling Cadillac project.

Red Bull's second seat has been a long-standing issue for the team, and neither Liam Lawson nor Yuki Tsunoda have looked like a viable long-term solution.

Sergio Perez survived for four seasons in the role, but his downturn in form became too severe and he was relieved of his duties at the end of last year.

Despite the promise of Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls and F2 driver Arvid Lindblad, who is in Red Bull's junior programme, opting for experience is increasingly looking like the best course of action to provide Verstappen with a team-mate who can help support his drivers' championship aspirations.

That widely-held view was echoed by Bottas, when he suggested the RB21 needs experience to be "driven fast" amid Lawson and Tsunoda's recent failings.

"I don't know if they look outside their academy," the Finnish driver said on the Beyond the Grid Podcast. "They have so many drivers. They've got, obviously, their junior team as well, RB [Racing Bulls].

"It's a tough one, because it seems like it's not an easy car to drive. Obviously, Max is doing the job. He's really pushing almost beyond the limits of the car, and whoever has been alongside him hasn't looked great.

"But I just wonder if that car, to be driven fast, needs a driver with experience, so I don't know," he added with a laugh.

"That's my speculation. But, I think they know that I'm keen to race. They know that I would be available for next year, but I don't know their mindset on that."

Blocking the way for 2025

Although he lost his Stake seat at the end of last year, when he joined Mercedes to partner Lewis Hamilton in 2017, Bottas developed the reputation of being a strong second driver.

It is something that fits the Red Bull mould, but the 35-year-old confirmed discussions over joining for the 2025 F1 season did not progress far - in large part due to an unnamed person blocking the way.

"'25, not really," the 10-time grand prix winner replied when asked whether he spoke to Red Bull about replacing Perez for the current campaign.

"It was put down quite quickly because I think there's certain persons, or a person, within the Red Bull organisation that, for some reason, is not a big fan of mine, but that's life."

Although Bottas did not reveal details about the aforementioned person or name them, it is widely believed to be Helmut Marko.