“Bottas will indeed be with Mercedes next season,” confirms Wolff

A rumor that George Russell might drive the Mercedes next season in place of Bottas had been growing since the Sakhir Grand Prix. The very strong performance of the young British driver against Valtteri Bottas when he replaced Lewis Hamilton set things ablaze.

Toto Wolff wanted to dismiss the rumors and clarify the situation this weekend in Abu Dhabi by explaining that Bottas “will be in our car,” he commented. He adds: “I confirm it. We have a contract with Valtteri. He will race next year. It would take a big kick in a sensitive area for me to lose my loyalty. And I am loyal to both my drivers.”

The Mercedes leader remains aware of the difficulties faced by his Finnish driver against his teammate throughout the season, but also of the bad luck that has accompanied him: « I can understand Valtteri’s situation. He has this incredibly fast teammate who has won seven world titles, and he himself has shown very good performances. He won the first race in Austria, he was on pole several times, and he should have won more races if there hadn’t been red flags or punctures. »

The setback against Russell in Sakhir didn’t help, but it doesn’t affect his position at the wheel of the Mercedes next year. On the contrary, Wolff explains that these events have brought the team director and his driver closer with better communication: « Losing again while bad luck affects his campaign is unfortunate, and I think a driver can sometimes find themselves in a bubble where they think everything is against them. Last weekend, everything was about George. George had nothing to lose and Valtteri had nothing to gain. We had a good, intelligent discussion about it. I can understand his situation, and we have decided to communicate more. »

Finally, Wolff aims to be reassuring about the future of George Russell, the protégé of the star-branded team: « In the same way, I am loyal to our junior drivers. George did a phenomenal job last weekend. He deserves to be in a great car one day. He has a contract with Williams for an additional year. They have been very flexible to allow us to have George at Mercedes, and everything will unfold as planned. But calmly, in a structured manner »