Lewis Hamilton responds to news Valtteri Bottas' F1 career is all but over

commented with a hugging emoji on ' goodbye message after it was announced that the 10-time Grand Prix winner will not be returning to for the 2025 season.

Bottas joined Sauber off the back of his Mercedes exit in 2021, linking up with the Hinwil-based team for the ground-effect regulations in 2022. Since pairing up with Zhou Guanyu, he has consistently had the measure of his team-mate, but this wasn't enough to mark him out as a future leader for the Audi project.

Sauber moved quickly to tie Nico Hulkenberg down for 2025 earlier in the year, and with the German already 37 years of age, Mattia Binotto opted for youth over experience in his second seat, choosing Formula Two championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto over Bottas.

This leaves Bottas in a worrying position. With only the second seat at VCARB left on the market and most of the competitive IndyCar rides already accounted for, the Finn is facing a year in the racing wilderness.

In a video message to his followers on Instagram, Bottas said: "Hi everyone, I guess you might have seen the news that I won't be racing in Formula One with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber in 2025.

"I wanted to just take this opportunity to thank you all for all of the support out there, in the past, and now and in the future. And also a big thanks to the team for everything. When one door closes, another one opens, and I'm actually very excited for the future and what is next."

The post received a comment from former Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, who sent a hug emoji, while current colleague Zhou replied: "Loved every single moment we had mate, best team-mate ever."

Current reports suggest that Bottas is set for a return to his former team Mercedes in a reserve driver role for 2025, although there will be no dream reunion with Hamilton as the Brit prepares to make the switch to Ferrari.

Bottas and Hamilton shared a close friendship during their time as team-mates and this has survived through into the next chapter of their careers. The duo regularly fly to races together and are still in regular contact.

Discussing their spell together, Hamilton said: "He has been the best team-mate I've had the pleasure of working with. Your speed and resilience has been impressive but where you truly stand out to me is the human being you are."