Mattia Binotti’s arrival at Audi 🔜could influence the F1 driver market, Valtteri Bottas admits.

Only four seats remain until the 2025 F1 driver line-up is🦩 complete.

Sauber💮/Audi, RB, Alpine and Mercedes must make their decisions before an unlucky handful of drivers will have their dreams dashed.

Sauber’s Bottas is among the drivers with 🎐an uncertain fu✤ture.

But huge changes to the management structure of Audi (who will run in F1 as Sauber next year) could have an iꦚmpact.

Ex-Ferrari team principal Binotto will join Audi as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, while Andreas Seidl and Ol🍬iver Hoffman will exit.

Jonathan Whea�🎶�tley will leave Red Bull to become Audi team principal.

“It is ꦜgoing💙 to reset the talks a bit,” Bottas conceded about his negotiations to stay.

“Because we hav💝e previously been in c🐻ommunication with Andreas and Oliver, and now it’s Mattia.

“For sure that w💟ill change some things. So we neꦐed to speak.

“It’s a bit o♔f a complicated 💦situation, but let’s see.”

Sauber, who will꧃ evolve into Audi in 2026 wh🌼en the new regulations kick in, have signed Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg for next season but are undecided on their other driver.

Bottas and current tea꧂mmate Guanyu Zhou both hoꩲpe to stay but there is only room for one.

The Audi project has been criti♉cised, with Carlos Sainz’s decision to snub them in favour of Williams identified as significant.

“It was a vote of no confidence for Sauber/Audi,” Craig Slater reported on the Sky F1 podcast. “Chiefly when you think about the family connection with Sainz and Carlos Sainz Senior winning Dakar with♚ Audi and the Volkswagen Group.

“For him to walk away from that when it seemed th𝔍e most obvious place for him to go is a clear sign that things are not right there.”

Bottas said about the new boss of the F1 team: “M🐼attia needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the strengths.

“What are the priorities💟 for short a🐼nd long-term improvements? And that’s going to take a bit of time.

“Obviously some things are internal, but we know th🦋at compared to the big teams, we’re still lacking a bit of human power.

“There are certain areas that we definitely need to focus on, at the factory but also with the car perfor𝓡mance.

“We're at the moment not where we need to bꩵe. We needed some new upgrades and [to go] inꦦ the right direction.

“It’s been pretty clear that all the decisions in the last year or two have been made to be compet꧙itive from ‘26.

“I know it’s not idea﷽l in some cases. For me, unfortunately, many times fighting towards the back e🌳nd.

But my job is still to do the very best I can. And at the same time push the team and 😼contribute the best I can. That’s all I can do at the moment.

“Hopefu🐲lly from now on, things will be a bit more stable and there’s a clear direction.”

Neither of Sauber’s dr🌊ivers have scored a point this season.

Zhou scored thei🎉r best result with P11 at the season-opening Bahrain♊ Grand Prix.