Valtteri Bottas acknowledges that Carlos Sainz's decision will crucially influence his precarious position in Formula 1.
It's becoming increasingly likely that Audi, the new owner of his current team Sauber, has no plans to keep the Finn or his Sauber teammate Guanyu Zhou for the 2025 season.
Audi favors Ferrari alum Sainz to join Nico Hulkenberg in their fresh factory initiative, although Sainz is also attracting attention from Williams.
Bottas, now 34, is also considering those teams as future employers.
"Yes, it pretty much depends on what Sainz does," he confessed to Iltalehti newspaper while at his gravel cycling event in Finland.
"After that, many pieces of the driver market will fall into place.
"That (Sainz) is what teams are waiting for, and that's why they haven't made any decisions."
Currently, Bottas claims not to be overly worried about his F1 continuity "at the moment", yet remains elusive about his prospects.
"I can't give more detailed information," he stated. "Maybe there is (a contract on the table), maybe not."
Bottas anticipates a flurry of activity around driver negotiations at this weekend's Spanish GP.
"It will probably start to happen this week, and I'll have more information then. We'll see if there will be a change of address for me or not," he remarked optimistically.
One thing is certain: Bottas won't be returning to Mercedes, despite maintaining contact with former boss Toto Wolff.
"We've talked, we're on good terms," he shared. "But one year at Mercedes doesn't make much sense to me."
With his future in motorsport uncertain, speculation about Bottas potentially transitioning to professional cycling has emerged.
"I don't think we need to think about that this year," he concluded firmly.
