The future of Valtteri Bottas and George Russell has dominated the headlines during the Formula 1 midseason, with Toto Wolff yet to make a decision on who will work with Lewis Hamilton on the Mercedes hot seat next season.
A decision was expected to be made during Formula 1’s brief summer break, but Wolff has delayed the announcement a bit as he is still weighing both sides.
In Bottas he has an experienced driver who guarantees regular points, but with the exciting young talent Russell he may have someone for the future who could become world champion himself.
It’s the talk of the town about the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend and with Bottas fighting to find his best form – he’s fourth overall in the drivers’ championship – the pressure has increased on him.
And Wolff spoke about the decision on the Saturday before qualifying in Belgium, hinting that his next decision could follow in the footsteps of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari by opting for potential over experience.
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Mercedes has postponed its plans to announce its second driver for the next season, but Wolff has admitted that he wants to make his decision “sooner rather than later”.
“It has always been important for us to know what happens to George or Valtteri at every step if we choose one of them, and I think about that all the time,” said Wolff.
“And we will not make a unilateral decision without knowing where the other direction is going.”
While on a battered Williams team, Russell has impressed with little work this season – having scored his team’s first points at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the middle of the season. He finished ninth behind Nicholas Latifi in eighth.
He has also proven his class in the past with the chance for Mercedes. Russell endured heartbreak when he stood in for Hamilton at last season’s Sakhir Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion’s positive Covid test.
Russell seemed destined for a remarkable win on his debut for Mercedes, but a tire mix-up and then a puncture shattered his dreams in Bahrain before finally finishing ninth.
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