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- Lewis Hamilton has started contract talks with Mercedes.
- Valtteri Bottas will start on the fifth Sunday despite a second place in qualifying.
- Hamilton moves from third to the front row and starts alongside his title rival Max Verstappen.
The question of who Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate will be in 2022 is still “open”, according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
The seven-time world champion said this week that his own contract talks with Wolff have now been started. Wolff said Friday Hamilton, 36, was “very hungry” to move on.
However, Hamilton also hinted that he does not want to be with his British compatriot George Russell next year, stating that he does not see why the current situation “needs to change”.
Hamilton is currently paired with Valtteri Bottas, whose future was already under dark clouds when he spun after a pit stop in the pit lane on Friday and narrowly missed McLaren mechanics.
The stewards added two penalty points to the Finn’s license, leaving him three places behind on Sunday’s starting grid. He starts in fifth after securing second place on the grid behind pole winner Max Verstappen. Botta’s fall brings Hamilton from third place to the front row.
About his current contract situation, the 31-year-old Bottas said that uncertainty was “not new to me”.
“Everyone knows how this sport works,” he said. “If you get good results, you deserve it. If you fail and the team feels the need to switch drivers, then they switch drivers. This is how it works.”
When asked about Hamilton’s support for Bottas, Wolff admitted that the seven-time world champion was “in the inner circle of decision-makers” at Mercedes.
“When I talk to Valtteri, it’s open. And when I talk to George, it’s very open because I don’t want any hidden intentions,” said Wolff.
“We have to assess the situation for the future,” admitted Wolff. “Valtteri had some really good weekends, but also some free weekends. We just have to minimize them and then we will make a decision.
“But whatever decision we make – Valtteri or George – the person involved will hear about it first and that is the driver.”
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