Toto Wolff has revealed that there is no absolute agreement within the Mercedes team on who should be the partner of the reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton in the 2022 season. Rumors of Valtteri Bottas being replaced for the new season were widespread, with George Russell being the most widely touted for the role.
Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, remained silent as to whether he and Mercedes had made their final decision and said that all the key players, himself and the Daimler owners, had to come to a solution.
This call would ideally be made before racing resumes on August 27th for the Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
In an interview with GPFans Global Wolff said: “We want to make the decision in the summer [break].
“There are also different opinions within the team and the Daimler Board of Management, and we just have to put our heads together and say: ‘Okay, what do everyone think?'”
Russell is seen by many not only as a replacement for Bottas, but also as part of Mercedes’ long-term plan if seven-time champion Hamilton decides to retire.
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“I think we have our plans with our drivers and Ferrari has a great line-up and Lando Norris at McLaren looks pretty even so I think the trajectory is set.
“We’re not looking for a driver.”
Red Bull has its own choice when it comes to Verstappen’s partner for next year.
Sergio Perez is currently driving for the team with the Dutchman, but while Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have expressed their desire to keep the Mexican, he is reportedly unhappy to work as number two.
That misfortune could force Red Bull to reconsider Pierre Gasly for the role.
Gasly has impressed with sister team AlphaTauri this year, but the Frenchman struggled when he had the opportunity to be downgraded halfway through the season at Red Bull in 2019.
Gasly’s AlphaTauri partner this year, Yuki Tsunoda, is just a rookie, so it seems extremely unlikely to be a candidate for the Red Bull seat.
Alex Albon currently works as reserve and development driver for Red Bull but failed to impress during his 18 months with the senior team and was replaced by Perez, which means the Thai-British driver is also unlikely to return.
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