Toto Wolff is no longer hiding his interest in reuniting Valtteri Bottas with Mercedes.
It is strongly rumoured that the 34-year-old Finn, ousted by Audi-owned Sauber for 2025, could try to relaunch his Formula 1 race career for 2026 by spending next season as Mercedes’ official reserve and an advisor to Wolff.
"Nothing has been signed, nothing is ready," team boss Wolff told Viaplay in Las Vegas. "But if we could get him back in the family, we would all be full of joy.
"When it’s possible to get a driver like Valtteri back, you can consider yourself very lucky," added Wolff, who paired Bottas with Lewis Hamilton between 2017 and 2021, resulting in 10 wins for the Finn.
Also rumoured is that Bottas’ new Mercedes role could involve the world endurance championship, as Mercedes-AMG is teaming up with LMGT3 team Iron Lynx from 2025.
Wolff says the Bottas deal is currently with the lawyers.
"You know what contract negotiations are like - lawyers always want to make contracts breakable," the Austrian smiled. "No, the lawyers are wonderful and it is only a matter of time."