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‘A lot of those decisions are not in my hands’: Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas explains ‘sudden change’ of race engineer in Miami

Valtteri Bottas has given his thoughts on the news that he will have a new race engineer for the Miami Grand Prix weekend, with the Finn admitting the move was a “sudden change” by Kick Sauber.

Bottas had worked with Alex Chan since joining the team at the start of the 2022 season, but the ten-time Grand Prix winner will now be paired with a different race engineer from the next event in Miami.

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When asked before the weekend about the reason for the change, Bottas responded: “I think it’s more of a question for the team. It was a pretty sudden change.

“It’s a Sprint weekend, so working with a new guy won’t be easy, but [we’re] obviously trying to make the most of it. “He’s getting a lot of support, but yeah, it’s a pretty sudden change.”

On whether the change had received his approval, Bottas suggested the move is part of continued development at Kick Sauber as the team prepares to become the official Audi team in 2026.