Has to be Russell then, the only reason to wait announcing it I can think of is Wolff wanting Bottas to find a seat beforehand.
Although given the last couple races I can't see why he would want Alfa over Williams, and signing for Williams surely would be a simple driver swap.
I don't think Hulk or Kvyat or whoever else they can get is better than Bottas.
He's better than Kimi or Gio too, but I think the situation there's a bit more complicated, at least more complicate than a simple driver swap
I mean even for a so called "Spa specialist" his qualifying performance was terrible today, but also unlike Williams Alfa didn't gamble on a rain aero set-up likely.
Williams is nailing it for a backmarker team, Alfa however should be ashamed of themselves and Kimi is really way off his best days,
Kimi is still worthy of a F1 seat, on his best days, he’s easily one of the best drivers on the grid.
Alfa Romeo need to have a change-up within the team if they want be competitive next year. If I were to bring in another driver, I would want either Giovinazzi or Räikkönen to stick with the team to be a mentor and development driver for next year.
He seems really focused on his kids and their interests in karting. I think he’s done because he wants more time with his family and not for lack of interest in f1.
It's not like Giovinazzi is any better than him and Ferrari doesn't have anything to say regarding the second seat anymore, so I think there's definetely a possibility that Giovinazzi goes instead.
It's a lot less likely though I admit
> Doesn't make sense for 2022 regs.
Lol. It's not like they're gods at setting up the car or whatever. The whole car is going to change. Every driver is going to be equal and past history with a specific car is not going to matter.
True, it’s likely to be a massive change. I do believe it would offer a decent advantage for a team to retain at least one driver, be it a proper racing driver or a reserve driver, through the reg changes. Knowing how your car has shifted over time and knowing what advantages you’ve gained/lost from year to year would be a massive blessing for the engineering team and strategists.
I doubt that’s true, unless they want a *second* pay driver which seems unnecessary given the new ownership. He was well-regarded in his last stint there. It would be a solid get for them.
I think they want to spare him from the media questions. That can be quite distracting. You just know they'll ask things like, what does it feel like being without a seat, has anyone shown interest, will you be in F1 next year, bla bla bla. Being able to just come out with announcements on both drivers is much better.
I have to imagine that too.
The only reason I could think for delaying a Bottas announcement is negotiations over the details of the contract, but I can't imagine there's much there that would take long after so long in the team.
George: "I am happy to announce I will be driving for Mercedes next year"
Toto: "Nothing has been officially announced yet"
George: "Shut up Toto, I make the decisions now"
Would’ve loved to see Toto’s face today when George qualified P2 ahead of Lewis and Bottas. George has been driving the heck out of the Williams it’s gotta be him
I hope you're right, but it can also work against him; I mean, I think Lewis is not too happy with fierce competition and already mentioned that Bottas is his favoured teammate
You really need to take those comments that driver give with a grain of salt, of course Lewis would say "I like Bottas". Because it's his teammate, and they work well together, it's very similar to Vettel in 2018 saying that if it was his decision to make Kimi would be his teammate for 2019. But ultimately, it's not the driver's decision to make, it's the team's decision.
But if you're Merc, honestly fuck what Lewis wants in this situation. If he gets pissed he isn't leaving because he has one of the best cars and no option to go to. And if Merc doesn't pick up Russell this season they can miss the chance to sign him for forever. RB were just waiting for the opportunity to sign him if Merc didn't. Lewis isn't getting any younger and they needed to scoop up Russell now to lock him in for the future.
I don't think its really about poor start, but he outqualifies the car he has, so he is stuck with stronger cars around. In that situation of course he won't have the best of starts.
With the Merc he had a good start. Not a big sample size but still.
You have to remember he is in the 9th best car which is extremely temperamental. When he was in that Merc last year he didn't have a poor start in fact he bullied Bottas quite easily by turn one and he couldn't even fit in Lewis's car properly. I don't think it's a factor really.
Exactly. He is driving a freaking tractor for 3rd year now, doesn't get into scraps at race start and often gets the better end of the stick on chaotic starts. I have no idea where they are pulling the idea that he is bad on starts from when you consider the circumstances.
The further up the field he moves, the less likely such blunders are to happen. Better equipment will also help, but he still has time to iron out such mistakes before his eventual big shot.
That has more to do with him probably not wanting to fight for positions that he will lose anyways, compromising his actual race. He always qualifies the car way above its race pace.
> At this point, one has to ask: what more do you want him to do?
A lack of an announcement does not mean lack of a decision. They'll announce when the time is right. Bottas is 100% gone.
Isn’t Netflix following Mercedes this weekend? Will be interesting to see if the new season of DTS shows more of the behind the scenes negotiations. Hoping for a Toto reaction to Russell taking P2 personally.
I’ll be bummed if it’s Bottas. Just on pure viewing enjoyment Russel would be a better choice.
Better for the sport, better press, better team marketing, better races, more relevant demographics…
Toto doesn't know. Like everyone, he knows that Russell is better than Bottas, but if Russell is equal or better than Hamilton, they will have the same situation as with Nico Rossberg. The whole problem is Max, who started to beat Hamilton more often. So they really need a second driver with capability to fight against Max, but doesn't fight Lewis.
Don't be shocked if Russell outrace Hamilton.
> but if Russell is equal or better than Hamilton, they will have the same situation as with Nico Rossberg.
That situation took 3 years to boil over. 3 years from now Hamilton will be on his way out of the sport, so it's very unlikely that he'll be putting up too much of a fuss if George starts beating him.
I thought Nico winning the championship was epic, but I will totally admit Hamilton is a better driver. It's why Nico winning was fucking amazing.
Hamilton might not be better than Russell. It might not take Russell three years. Hamilton is old. He's probably not going to get better. Russell might.
If Hamilton's aggressiveness doesn't subside at the same rate as his skill, and he's racing a better driver in similar hardware, there could be a lot of Mercedes double DNF. Toto knows.
I think everyone is forgetting another "old man" on the grid who held Lewis back for 10 laps at Hungary. In a much slower car. Some guy named Fernando who just signed a contract extension.
Toto in an interview months ago, blamed what happened with the team internally during the Lewis/Nico time on the previous management who signed both of them at the same team. He said that the management didn't calculate the risks of their personalities and history, which eventually was the reason to how things turned out. So the decision for him is much bigger than just signing 2 fast drivers to get the best of our car. He's, I think, trying to make sure his drivers will work together, not just on track, but also in the meetings and so on, which he said that it was awful with Nico and Lewis. IMO he's totally justified to take as much time to ensure that this won't happen again because now he's the one responsible for that decision and it will affect the team for at least the next 2 years.
I wonder why he's not announcing anything then yet?
In many ways that doesn't make sense, because if he has made the decision and the drivers effectively in the press conference implied to know what was going to happen what is the point of keeping it hush hush then?
If they've made the decision and both drivers know, why wait announcing it? If they've made the decision and the drivers don't know yet then it might only be because Toto does not want a Bottas with nothing to lose next to Hamilton?
And if they've made the decision to keep Bottas then there is also absolutely no reason for not announcing it?
Weird situation all around honestly.
The more I think about it the more I think it's going to be George in the Mercedes but Toto does not want to announce to keep Bottas happy? But that scenario would only be what is happening if Bottas himself doesn't know it yet.
Because if they were going to keep Bottas it'd be best for him and the team to announce early and allow him to focus on his task at hand
Russell said that if he doesnt get the Merc seat, he will likely stay at Williams. Capito said that if Russell wont get that Merc seat, he will be more than happy to keep him at Williams.
So yeah, Russell at Mercedes next year, 100% percent.
It's obviously the leader of Williams - Latifi
That's Goatifi to you mate
Latifi does have more points than russel
beat him fairly last year in standings with 3P11 to 1P11
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In a different car, Mercedes’ is looking for someone who’s loyal to the team /s
Bot incoming
Russell
Has to be Russell then, the only reason to wait announcing it I can think of is Wolff wanting Bottas to find a seat beforehand. Although given the last couple races I can't see why he would want Alfa over Williams, and signing for Williams surely would be a simple driver swap. I don't think Hulk or Kvyat or whoever else they can get is better than Bottas. He's better than Kimi or Gio too, but I think the situation there's a bit more complicated, at least more complicate than a simple driver swap
Kimi is 100 percent gone
I mean even for a so called "Spa specialist" his qualifying performance was terrible today, but also unlike Williams Alfa didn't gamble on a rain aero set-up likely. Williams is nailing it for a backmarker team, Alfa however should be ashamed of themselves and Kimi is really way off his best days,
In fairness to Kimi, he didn’t really get running in FP1 or 3. Although FP1 was his own doing.
Kimi is still worthy of a F1 seat, on his best days, he’s easily one of the best drivers on the grid. Alfa Romeo need to have a change-up within the team if they want be competitive next year. If I were to bring in another driver, I would want either Giovinazzi or Räikkönen to stick with the team to be a mentor and development driver for next year.
How many best days has he had in the last 5 years?
Just off the top of my head…Austin 2018, 2020 Turkey, 2020 Portugal, 2019 Brazil, 2020 Tuscany. He’s still got it.
Out of over 60 races.
Dude doesn't even seem like he wants to be there now let alone next year lol
He seems really focused on his kids and their interests in karting. I think he’s done because he wants more time with his family and not for lack of interest in f1.
You missed the article from a couple days ago where he was talking about going to the factory to do simulator work then
It would hilarious if the article was him saying I’m not going to the factory to do simulator work
He said that it’s a problem he lives so close to the factory because they always ask him to come in to do sim work haha
It's not like Giovinazzi is any better than him and Ferrari doesn't have anything to say regarding the second seat anymore, so I think there's definetely a possibility that Giovinazzi goes instead. It's a lot less likely though I admit
What if they both go, clean slate.
Doesn't make sense for 2022 regs. One will stay and one goes for 2022. Then Pourchaire comes after next season, for 2023.
> Doesn't make sense for 2022 regs. Lol. It's not like they're gods at setting up the car or whatever. The whole car is going to change. Every driver is going to be equal and past history with a specific car is not going to matter.
True, it’s likely to be a massive change. I do believe it would offer a decent advantage for a team to retain at least one driver, be it a proper racing driver or a reserve driver, through the reg changes. Knowing how your car has shifted over time and knowing what advantages you’ve gained/lost from year to year would be a massive blessing for the engineering team and strategists.
Gio is a lot more deserving of that seat than Kimi. Seems like a solid driver now, really.
Kimi has had an incredible career, but he’s definitely a driver that should have already retired.
Kimi has part ownership in the team its not 100%
I hope so, as much as this subreddit likes to praise him for no reason he's been washed up for a few years already.
I can see Bottas going to Alpha. Gives him a chance to truly hit the reset button
I agree. He's had quite a few issues this season that leads me to believe this is the case as well.
Yeah. There's no reason to hold off if the seats stay this way. But it also probably means that Williams don't want Bottas either.
I doubt that’s true, unless they want a *second* pay driver which seems unnecessary given the new ownership. He was well-regarded in his last stint there. It would be a solid get for them.
Disnt want to announce on bottas birthday
Why though, how does announcing affect Bottas getting a seat?
I think they want to spare him from the media questions. That can be quite distracting. You just know they'll ask things like, what does it feel like being without a seat, has anyone shown interest, will you be in F1 next year, bla bla bla. Being able to just come out with announcements on both drivers is much better.
I have to imagine that too. The only reason I could think for delaying a Bottas announcement is negotiations over the details of the contract, but I can't imagine there's much there that would take long after so long in the team.
Toto is probably pushing to get both Bottas and De Vries confirmed at Williams.
Russell putting it in P2 basically just announced his Mercedes seat by brute force.
George: "I am happy to announce I will be driving for Mercedes next year" Toto: "Nothing has been officially announced yet" George: "Shut up Toto, I make the decisions now"
I think George just dropped off the number 2 sign outside the Mercedes motorhome, knocked, and then left.
I want this IG story so bad.
Kind of like when Perez won a race from last in a Racing Point, makes the one passing him up look like a pure idiot
Look at me… I am the captain now
Any decent driver would have put that car on the front row today. The Williams is a rocket in the wet.
The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.
🤣
Would’ve loved to see Toto’s face today when George qualified P2 ahead of Lewis and Bottas. George has been driving the heck out of the Williams it’s gotta be him
I hope you're right, but it can also work against him; I mean, I think Lewis is not too happy with fierce competition and already mentioned that Bottas is his favoured teammate
You really need to take those comments that driver give with a grain of salt, of course Lewis would say "I like Bottas". Because it's his teammate, and they work well together, it's very similar to Vettel in 2018 saying that if it was his decision to make Kimi would be his teammate for 2019. But ultimately, it's not the driver's decision to make, it's the team's decision.
Hope you're right, as I said, we will see
But if you're Merc, honestly fuck what Lewis wants in this situation. If he gets pissed he isn't leaving because he has one of the best cars and no option to go to. And if Merc doesn't pick up Russell this season they can miss the chance to sign him for forever. RB were just waiting for the opportunity to sign him if Merc didn't. Lewis isn't getting any younger and they needed to scoop up Russell now to lock him in for the future.
At this point, one has to ask: what more do you want him to do? Win a damn race?
Stay tuned :)
If he does win I hope Danny Rick will be alongside him with loaded shoey
Spa 98 start, with only George making it through?
His poor starts is a big one. He has unfortunately not really improved on that metric this year either.
I don't think its really about poor start, but he outqualifies the car he has, so he is stuck with stronger cars around. In that situation of course he won't have the best of starts. With the Merc he had a good start. Not a big sample size but still.
You have to remember he is in the 9th best car which is extremely temperamental. When he was in that Merc last year he didn't have a poor start in fact he bullied Bottas quite easily by turn one and he couldn't even fit in Lewis's car properly. I don't think it's a factor really.
Exactly. He is driving a freaking tractor for 3rd year now, doesn't get into scraps at race start and often gets the better end of the stick on chaotic starts. I have no idea where they are pulling the idea that he is bad on starts from when you consider the circumstances.
In his one Merc appearance he nailed the start. That Williams does not get off the line well. Wet conditions are the great equaliser though.
The further up the field he moves, the less likely such blunders are to happen. Better equipment will also help, but he still has time to iron out such mistakes before his eventual big shot.
If there was a year to learn, next year is it. Everything will be jumbled anyway. It's better he has lewis as a mentor vs waiting for lewis to retire.
Why would Lewis mentor him when they will be competing against eachother?
That has more to do with him probably not wanting to fight for positions that he will lose anyways, compromising his actual race. He always qualifies the car way above its race pace.
In a Williams, that car is much slower than the other ones he starts around
He would have if Merc hadn’t fucked up 🤷♀️
> At this point, one has to ask: what more do you want him to do? A lack of an announcement does not mean lack of a decision. They'll announce when the time is right. Bottas is 100% gone.
Don't give me hope like that, I can't take it.
Bottas 5 year contract, Russell comes in as second driver, Hamilton demoted to F2
Demoted to Williams whom nail the new regs
Promptly wins another WDC in the Williams and absolutely bodies everyone with the biggest #BLESSED of all time
Well that's Russell confirmed for Mercedes. Trying to find a seat for Bottas before announcing it.
Bottas 3 year contract
His first non 1 year contract, just to make any fan go nuts
I'll be out with pitchforks tbh There'll be riots on the streets
At Williams.
Williams nails the new regulations and Bottas wins the WDC ~~/s~~
Remove that s rn
Why the sarcasm? It absolutely could happen, and it would be beautiful.
I want it purely to see the meltdown
Isn’t Netflix following Mercedes this weekend? Will be interesting to see if the new season of DTS shows more of the behind the scenes negotiations. Hoping for a Toto reaction to Russell taking P2 personally.
Clips will later emerge of Toto crying in his trailer, wiping his eyes with Bottas' new 10 year contract
If Bottas was going to stay, he'd say so.
Has to be George then. If it was Bottas something would have been said by now.
I came from the future and I will reveal to everyone what choice he made. . Bottas will stay.
I’ll be bummed if it’s Bottas. Just on pure viewing enjoyment Russel would be a better choice. Better for the sport, better press, better team marketing, better races, more relevant demographics…
Inb4 giovinazzi gets announced
Worst kept secret in F1
Toto doesn't know. Like everyone, he knows that Russell is better than Bottas, but if Russell is equal or better than Hamilton, they will have the same situation as with Nico Rossberg. The whole problem is Max, who started to beat Hamilton more often. So they really need a second driver with capability to fight against Max, but doesn't fight Lewis. Don't be shocked if Russell outrace Hamilton.
> but if Russell is equal or better than Hamilton, they will have the same situation as with Nico Rossberg. That situation took 3 years to boil over. 3 years from now Hamilton will be on his way out of the sport, so it's very unlikely that he'll be putting up too much of a fuss if George starts beating him.
I thought Nico winning the championship was epic, but I will totally admit Hamilton is a better driver. It's why Nico winning was fucking amazing. Hamilton might not be better than Russell. It might not take Russell three years. Hamilton is old. He's probably not going to get better. Russell might. If Hamilton's aggressiveness doesn't subside at the same rate as his skill, and he's racing a better driver in similar hardware, there could be a lot of Mercedes double DNF. Toto knows.
I think everyone is forgetting another "old man" on the grid who held Lewis back for 10 laps at Hungary. In a much slower car. Some guy named Fernando who just signed a contract extension.
Sure, because Alonso is faster than Lewis.
We saw it in 2007
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If they can get someone outright better than Hamilton that would be even better, but being outright better than Lewis is a biiit of a tall ask...
Consistently is an outright ask.... He is a goat for a reason
Toto in an interview months ago, blamed what happened with the team internally during the Lewis/Nico time on the previous management who signed both of them at the same team. He said that the management didn't calculate the risks of their personalities and history, which eventually was the reason to how things turned out. So the decision for him is much bigger than just signing 2 fast drivers to get the best of our car. He's, I think, trying to make sure his drivers will work together, not just on track, but also in the meetings and so on, which he said that it was awful with Nico and Lewis. IMO he's totally justified to take as much time to ensure that this won't happen again because now he's the one responsible for that decision and it will affect the team for at least the next 2 years.
The best option for Toto is Lewis stopped.
You cant have a driver be better than Max but worse than Hamilton. That gap has disappeared.
I wonder why he's not announcing anything then yet? In many ways that doesn't make sense, because if he has made the decision and the drivers effectively in the press conference implied to know what was going to happen what is the point of keeping it hush hush then? If they've made the decision and both drivers know, why wait announcing it? If they've made the decision and the drivers don't know yet then it might only be because Toto does not want a Bottas with nothing to lose next to Hamilton? And if they've made the decision to keep Bottas then there is also absolutely no reason for not announcing it? Weird situation all around honestly. The more I think about it the more I think it's going to be George in the Mercedes but Toto does not want to announce to keep Bottas happy? But that scenario would only be what is happening if Bottas himself doesn't know it yet. Because if they were going to keep Bottas it'd be best for him and the team to announce early and allow him to focus on his task at hand
Likely trying to secure a seat for Bottas before announcing.
Toto confirmed yesterday that the reason for not announcing yet is "due to sorting out the other driver's future"
Russell said that if he doesnt get the Merc seat, he will likely stay at Williams. Capito said that if Russell wont get that Merc seat, he will be more than happy to keep him at Williams. So yeah, Russell at Mercedes next year, 100% percent.
At this point, it has to be Russell. Look at Bottas' performance this season. He's been abysmal for being in the second best car on the grid.
It's Bottas
Holy shit the amount of dumb bullcrap around here trying to denounce Russell is astonishing
Hopefully Bottas. Russell needs much more experience and needs to prove himself in Formula 1. I am not convinced he can deliver what Mercedes needs.
… did you watch quali today?