London, Dec 19 : Mercedes AMG Petronas have announced Valtteri Bottas as a reserve driver for the 2025 season, after the Finn and Kick Sauber parted company following the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"Valtteri Bottas heads home, back to the three-pointed star as Third Driver for 2025," Mercedes AMG Petronas said in a statement.

Bottas drove for Mercedes for five seasons alongside Lewis Hamilton from 2017-2021, securing all 10 of his career wins with the Silver Arrows, as well as his 20 pole positions in Formula 1.

He had joined Sauber, known as Alfa Romeo at the time, for the 2022 season after Mercedes chose to promote George Russell in his place, the Finn enduring mixed fortunes with the Swiss team ranging from finishing a strong 10th in 2022 to failing to score at all in 2024.

When Kick Sauber opted not to re-sign Bottas for 2025 ' instead choosing a combination of Nico Hulkenberg and Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto ' the Finn began talks with Mercedes about a reserve role in a bid to stay in the conversation as he pursues a racing return in 2026. His reserve role will involve him attending most, if not all, the Grands Prix and supporting regular race drivers Russell and debutant Kimi Antonelli.

'Returning home to the Mercedes family as third driver for 2025 is what's next and I couldn't be more pleased,' said Bottas.

'I want to thank Toto (Wolff, Mercedes team boss), the team at Brackley, and everyone at the three-pointed star for welcoming me back with open arms. Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know that I've still got so much more to contribute to F1. Since I was a five-year-old kid growing up in Nastola, Finland, my focus has been on achieving success in the top tier of motorsport.

'I've been fortunate to have enjoyed many incredible moments in my 12 years of racing in F1 so far. As I return to the place where so many of those moments were achieved, I'm looking forward to using all the knowledge I've gained to help the team to perform and progress towards our goal of fighting for world championships.'

Wolff added: 'Welcome home, Valtteri! It's great to have you back. His impact and contribution in the five years he was with us previously as our race driver was immense.

'Along with scoring multiple Grands Prix wins, he played a vital role in five of our championship victories. His technical feedback and input were important in helping us to those successes and pushing the team forward. 'Not only that, but he was also a fantastic colleague and team member. His dry sense of humour and personable nature made him a firm favourite with everyone at Brackley and Brixworth.

'In his role as Reserve Driver, all those qualities will be incredibly important in helping us compete for world championships and supporting both George and Kimi on track.'

/IANS