Watch: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu get a guard of honor from Sauber ahead of their last race with the team
The 2024 Abu Dhabi GP was the last race for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu with Sauber. With Sauber moving into a transitional phase before the Audi takeover, the German automaker influenced Sauber’s decision for the 2025 driver lineup. Neither Bottas nor Zhou were on their list as the team bid farewell to them. A guard of honor was given to the drivers by the whole team in the paddock.
Canal+ F1’s official X handle uploaded a video from the Sauber garage. As Zhou and Bottas walked towards the garage for their final race with Sauber, all the employees came out in the paddock behind the garage and clapped for the two drivers. The team thanked the drivers by giving them a guard of honor.
Zhou gave high fives to the members as he walked down the paddock whereas Bottas had a smile on his face. The two drivers walked side-by-side as the Finnish driver put his hand on his teammate's shoulder. The two were then presented with their national flags as they exchanged hugs with a few members. They then posed with the flags for photographs, thanked the team for the heartwarming gesture, and went inside the garage.
Sauber will be taken over by the Audi group from the 2026 season. However, things have already started moving in the background with the signings of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Mattia Binotto has also been signed as the CTO and COO of the team.
Valtteri Bottas started the Abu Dhabi GP in P9 but an early incident with Sergio Perez put him on the backfoot. A crash with Magnussen midway through the race forced the Finnish driver to retire. Zhou started the race in P15 and finished P13, albeit one lap down on the race leader.
Sauber had the slowest car for most of the 2024 season. Zhou scored the only points for the team throughout the season at last weekend's Qatar GP.
“A big mistake”: Valtteri Bottas reflects on the Sauber move
Valtteri Bottas was released by Mercedes at the end of the 2021 campaign and replaced by British prodigy George Russell. Bottas didn't have many options and chose Alfa Romeo (now Sauber) as his home for the next few years. However, looking back it the move, Bottas feels he made the wrong decision.
Valtteri Bottas said (via is.fi):
“If I could go back three years, I would have gone somewhere else. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. This was a big mistake, but it’s hard to predict these things in advance. That first year with Vasseur was a good thing. The team spirit was good and the results were quite good. The last two seasons have been a bit of a downhill slide all the time. Of course, that affects my image as a driver. If you can’t show results, people kind of forget your name.”
Bottas revealed that he was approached by IndyCar teams but he deciding against making the full-time switch. But he's still open to racing in the Indy 500. The Finnish driver suggested that a 2026 F1 seat is still an option for him.