“George and Valtteri probably each have more than one option to stay in Formula 1″– Toto Wolff on George Russell and Valtteri Bottas’s future.
The second seat in Mercedes is possibly vacant for next year, as Valtteri Bottas’ contract with the Silver Arrows is running down, and the negotiations between the two haven’t reached an advanced stage.
Valtteri Bottas believes he has faced a lot of “unnecessary pressure” at Mercedes, due to only being given 1-year contracts by the Silver Arrows.
🗞 [Speedweek] pic.twitter.com/LueAqJfjBQ— formularacers (@formularacers_) August 11, 2021
On the other hand, there are concrete reports of George Russell being promoted to partner Hamilton next year. Amidst all this, Toto Wolff is slightly relaxed as he claims both drivers have more than one option for 2022 if one of them faces an axe by Mercedes.
“George and Valtteri probably each have more than one option to stay in Formula 1 and race in Formula 1 with attractive prospects,” he assures at Nextgen-Auto.com.
It will be a tight competition next year.
Adding to this, Wolff said that the lower tier teams would make massive progress in the deficit they are facing against the top teams next year, and having either Bottas and Russell in the market would only benefit them.
“Most teams see themselves as challengers, they expect a big step forward next year because of the cost cap that now applies to everyone. They’ve been focusing on development for next year very early on,” he added.
“You can see Alfa Romeo and Williams haven’t put in a large amount of parts for a while. I think George and Valtteri, whatever we decide, will have excellent options.”
While Russell is showing patience with his possible opportunity with Mercedes, Bottas wishes for a soon definite answer to seek a new suitable team to continue in F1.
Now the ball is only in Mercedes’ court, which would set the Brackley-based team’s course for next year; everyone awaits the answer from Wolff at this hour of the season.
