Ahead of the Miami GP, Alex Chan, Valtteri Bottas’ Race Engineer since 2022 has left the Stake F1 team. With Bottas having a new engineer start this weekend at Miami.

When asked in the press conference the reason behind the change, he quickly dismissed the situation, saying, “That’s more of a question for the team.” It was clear Bottas was not pleased with situation.

He went on to recognise it was a “sudden change.” Especially with Miami being a sprint weekend. “Working with a fresh guy will be not easy.”

Bottas was also asked if the change had his blessing, the Finnish Driver evaded, admitting “it’s part of the reconstruction for the team. There are some people leaving, some people joining.”

With Audi taking owning Stake from 2025 but coming into F1 in 2026 it is clear that they are beginning to prepare the team for their entry. Starting with staff changes.

Bottas acknowledged “many of those decisions are not in my hands.”

Since Shanghai, the news also broke that Hülkenburg will be joining the team in 2025. Staying for the change to Audi. This leaves at least one of the current stake drivers without a seat for 2025.

When Valtteri Bottas was asked how he felt about this announcement. He admitted it was “quite early” to have contracts announced. As well as describing the move as “surprising”.

The Finnish driver attributed the pull of Hülkenburg being because “He’s german, Audi’s made it pretty clear they want a German driver.”

Bottas himself disclosed he was speaking to “Multiple teams,” with some that have “advanced more than others.”

The driver market is competitive this year. With both new talents looking to come onto the grid and experienced drivers with contract’s expiring. Drivers will have to move quickly to ensure they remain on the grid.

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