Perhaps the juiciest question in Formula 1 these days is whether it will be Bottas or Russell at Mercedes.
There has been a lot of talk recently about Valtteri Bottas’s future. The Finn has been with the AMG Mercedes Formula 1 team since 2017, but he has always played second fiddle to the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Courtesy: News Now Finland
Bottas has had victories at Mercedes since coming over from Williams and, a few times, he has beaten Hamilton to the pole. However, since Emilia Romagna, there have been questions about whether Bottas will remain with the Silver Arrows.
Both drivers are due for a renewal on their contracts. Hamilton could go a few more seasons, even if he wins another title. As for Bottas, his situation got a bit dicier when he tangled with Williams (and perhaps future Mercedes) driver George Russell at Imola. They both apologized, but that didn’t settle down the rumor mill.
The Daily Mail, for example, reported that Bottas could be replaced with Russell next year. If true, that would give the Finn no option but to look for other employment in F1 or another series. In fact, what makes the rumor even more interesting is that Russell might replace Bottas even before the end of this season,
Rumors aside, Bottas performed well last week at the Portuguese Grand Prix–grabbing the pole and finishing with a podium appearance (third behind Hamilton and Verstappen). But when asked last weekend about the situation, Mercedes Team Manager Toto Wolff didn’t respond definitively.
Toto Wolff: I hope one day that I wake up, and it becomes clear. We need to look into the season and how the next races unfold, and then it is a judgment call, I believe. Not a very scientific response, but I haven’t got any at the moment.
Wolff’s comment needs to be interpreted in context. Everything will be new in F1 2022–with the design of the car and many other items brand new to test, which could make things very difficult for anyone new to the team. Having a driver that is used to the team would be in Bottas’s favor. But Russell is young, talented, and almost pulled off an almost unimaginable fete–winning for Mercedes when Hamilton was out with COVID. Only a last-minute puncture kept Russell from winning the race.
How will this story end? Winning is the ultimate salve, and Bottas has shown he can do just that. And he might have Hamilton in his corner if the champion believes Mercedes’ cause is better served by having an experienced #2. Then there’s the matter of whether Hamilton wants to see a fellow countryman in Russell, who could challenge his undisputed claim as England’s best in the sport.
What’s best for Mercedes? In all likelihood, that question will be answered soon, perhaps in the mid-September race at the Italian Grand Prix.
