Valtteri Bottas will drive for Alfa Romeo from the Formula 1 World Championship in 2022, the team announced on Monday.
Bottas has signed a multi-year contract with Alfa Romeo and will replace his compatriot Kimi Räikkönen in the Backmarker squad. Räikkönen will finally withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of 2021 after 20 long years in sport.
Bottas, who will drive alongside Antonio Giovinazzi for Alfa Romeo, is currently driving for Mercedes-Benz AMG. Bottas started his F1 career at Williams in 2013 and moved to Mercedes in 2017 after Nico Rosberg’s sudden resignation. However, he has not achieved much since joining the top team, although he has nine wins, 17 pole positions and 63 podiums under his belt. He is currently third in the 2021 drivers’ championship.
George Russell
The current Williams driver George Russell will step in for Bottas at Mercedes, Mercedes said on Tuesday. The promising driver impressed when he occupied Lewis Hamilton’s place at Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, close to victory, but ultimately retired due to a pit stop mistake and a punctured tire.
Russell started his F1 career at Williams in 2019 and has made some impressive drives and consistently outperformed his car. This was last seen at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2021, where he qualified second in heavy rain on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and left Hamilton behind.
Russell will ride alongside Hamilton in 2022 when the sport introduces new technical regulations. A replacement for him at Williams will be announced.
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