Mercedes will decide during the summer break whether Bottas should be kept as a teammate of Lewis Hamilton for next year or whether George Russell will be used instead.
The team insists that no decision has been made yet and Bottas is fully focused on convincing his bosses to hand him a new contract. But if Mercedes chose Russell, Bottas knew that he wanted to stay in F1 instead of racing in another category.
There has been speculation that he might return to the Williams team to replace Russell, with the Grove-based team under new ownership Dorilton Capital enjoying a performance upgrade. However, senior sources have revealed that he is a key target for the Alfa Romeo team that Kimi Raikkonen will consider increasingly unlikely beyond the end of this season.
Bottas would bring speed and experience to the team as well as a decent profile as a multiple Grand Prix winner. Although it is assumed that talks about a possible deal have not yet started, it is believed that there has been a brief contact on the possible availability of Bottas for 2022.
Sources suggest the door isn’t closed for next year, but nothing will move forward until Mercedes decides what to do.
It is assumed that Alfa Romeo owner Finn Rausing and team principal Fred Vasseur are in no hurry to weed out drivers for next year and have been frank that they will wait for Mercedes and Red Bull to finalize their lineups before hitting one Make a call.
At last weekend’s British Grand Prix, Vasseur said: “We’ll see how the market develops. I think the system will, as always, fulfill those places at the top.
“That means Mercedes has to make a decision and then Red Bull has to make a decision. Then, like a domino, we have some chances on the table at some point and at that point we make a decision. “
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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Bottas continues to deliver for his team after helping Hamilton at the British Grand Prix last weekend.
“Valtteri has speed, Valtteri has character and Valtteri is a team player, which is very important for the dynamics of a team,” Wolff told Motorsport.com. “I have the feeling that he has had a very positive attitude in the last few races and you can see that on the track.
“He could have been on pole [at Silverstone]if he’d had the slipstream. And he finished a few seconds behind the leaders so he’s at the top and I’m happy to see that. “
When asked whether the Hungarian GP was the last chance for Bottas to prove a point, Wolff said: “It’s not about proving a point, it’s about putting our heads together here and with Mercedes to shape the future of our driver line-up. “
“We’ll make a decision in the summer and then decide when to communicate it.”
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