Mattia Binotti’s arrival at Audi could infl💃uence the F1 driver market, Va🦩ltteri Bottas admits.

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

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

Sa🥀uber’s Bottas is among the drivers with an uncertain futu⛎re.

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

Ex-Ferrari team principal Binotto will join Audi as Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer, while Andreas Seไidl and Oliver Hoffman will exit.

Jonathan Wheatley will leave Red Bull to b☂ecome Audi team principal.

“It is go൩🌳ing to reset the talks a bit,” Bottas conceded about his negotiations to stay.

“Because we have previously🎐 been in communication with Andreas and Oliver, and now it’s Mattia.

“For sure that will change some things. So we need to sp𓄧eak.

“It’s a bit of a compli🐼cated situation, but let’s see.”

Sauber, who will evolve into Audi in 2026 when the new regul꧋ations kick in, have signed Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg for next season but are undecided on their other driver.

Bottas and current💦 teammate Guanyu Zhou both hope to stay but there i🦂s only room for one.

The Audi project has been criticised🅺, 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 Carlo🃏s Sainz Senior winning Dakar with Audi and the Volkswagen Group.

“For hi☂m to walk away from that when it seemed the 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: “Matꦺtia needs to know what are the weaknesses, what are the stren💫gths.

“What are the priorities for short and long-term improvements? And that’s going to take a b🐓it of time.

“Obviously some things are internal, but we k🎃now that compared to the big teams, we’re still lacking a bit of human power.

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

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

“It’s been p☂retty clear that all the decisions in the last year or two have been made to be competitive from 🐎‘26.

“I know it’s notಌ ideal in some cases. For me, unfortunately, many times fighting towards the back✱ end.

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

“Hope💮fully from now on, things will be a bit more s🍌table and there’s a clear direction.”

Neither of Sauber’s drivers have score💯d a point this season.

Zhou scored thꦜeir best result with P11 at t🐲he season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.