Wolff speaks in past tense about Bottas: 'He's been fantastic'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
It remains the big question in the silly season towards 2022; who will drive next season next to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Can Valtteri Bottas stay another year or will it be George Russell? From Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, there is a lot of praise for Bottas lately. Are they trying to help him get another seat for next year?
Great team member
Toto Wolff talks to Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat about Bottas' performance at Silverstone. "Valtteri was really fast today and drove a solid race. Lewis came from behind on hard tyres and was just a class act. Valtteri was second fastest and helped Lewis." Bottas let Hamilton pass after being instructed by the team. "He's a great team member with the right personality".
Bottas eventually finished third in the race, grabbing his sixth podium of the season. In the battle for the championship, however, he is already out of the race. The Finn is currently fourth with a 78-point gap to championship leader Max Verstappen.
Helping Bottas to a great future
The rumours about Russell joining Mercedes and Bottas leaving are getting louder and louder. Wolff still doesn't reveal anything about Mercedes' plans, but he does let it be known that if Bottas has to leave Mercedes he would like to help him find another seat. Not in the least because the two have a long history together. Wolff was part of Bottas' management team.
"If there is a situation where we want to give someone else a chance, it's not just about my relationship with him. It's my responsibility to make sure he has a great future because he deserves it." Remarkably, Wolff is even talking about Bottas in the past tense. "He has been the teammate of the best F1 driver in history and then it is not always easy to shine. But he has been fantastic."