“Alfa Romeo looks more likely than Williams” – Valtteri Bottas might have two teams to choose from if he is expectedly shown the exit door by Mercedes.
This is according to Auto Motor und Sport reporter Michael Schmidt, who believes Alfa Romeo have moved ahead in the race to sign him. To substantiate it, he claims that Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur was seen multiple times at the Mercedes hospitality during the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“At the moment, Alfa Romeo looks more likely than Williams. I think Vasseur was seen in the Mercedes hospitality 10 times last weekend.
“Williams are looking for an experienced driver. If it’s not Bottas, I think Nico Hülkenberg has a good chance.”
Bottas on his part did not reveal much when asked why his manager Didier Coton was present during the weekend.
I can’t tell you, but they are working.
Who else is Alfa Romeo considering?
Alfa Romeo will only need a replacement if Kimi Raikkonen decided to hang up his steering wheel at the end of the season. If he does, Schmidt believes the teenager Theo Pourchaire could be an alternative to Bottas. The F2 driver was given a private F1 test by the team in Hungary.
“The team think very highly of him. There are people in the team who say he’s the new [Alain] Prost. The question is whether they will promote him to F1 after just one year in F2.
“I think Pourchaire still lacks superlicence points. There are different ways to fill the seat. Ferrari could offer a lot of money to put [Robert] Shwartzman in the seat – that would be a way to make Pourchaire wait for one year.”
