Whos getting BOTTAS' seat next year ?

AgentCyclone said:
GR63 will get the Mercedes seat with Givonazzi still TBC about this future so if Alfa ditches The Italian Jesus I’m sure Alex Albon will race alongside Valtteri for the Romeo and Williams will end up getting some hopeless dude currently in F2 and be a wasted talent for Team Willy
Click to expand...
So Mercedes aren’t happy about Albon racing for Williams as a Mercedes customer team if he retains his links with Red Bull, that’s what all the kerfuffle was about last weekend with Horner making barbed comments about Wolff calling Alex and telling him he wouldn’t be welcome at Williams and not to go there. I suspect there’s a bit of Wolff wanting De Vries in that seat too but apparently Albon is Williams preferred option. Toto has some Williams shares, around 5% so far from controlling and I doubt that Williams deal with Mercedes for the PU includes a veto on the driver. You can see Toto’s point though, would RB be happy to let George Russell or Nyck De Vries into the Toro Rosso seat while they remain Mercedes affiliated? Of course he wouldn’t.
 
Mr Jack said:
Indeed. The line betwixt pay driver and not isn't exactly clear blue water.
Click to expand...

I think if we're going to go that route the distinction should be where the drivers' salary comes from.

If the driver is taking their salary out of their sponsorship that that is a pure pay driver. If the driver is receiving a contracted salary from the team, then that probably isn't a pay driver.

Otherwise you'd have to call Alonso a pay driver at both McLaren and Ferrari. The former was over $25m a season and the later in the region of $50m
 
Greboth said:
Sorry, I look forward to seeing who Mercedes promote to that second seat from their young driver program that has F1 experience and maybe even experience of the Merc team. Whomever that might be :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Rosberg? :p
 
MissChief said:
You can see Toto’s point though, would RB be happy to let George Russell or Nyck De Vries into the Toro Rosso seat while they remain Mercedes affiliated? Of course he wouldn’t.
Click to expand...
Actually Horner has in the past (2018) said this when Ocon was seemingly out of seat and was a Merc contracted driver that if Ocon did not have that affiliation he could have been considered for a drive in the Toro Rosso team. The difference being Toro Rosso is an RB sister team whereas the Williams isn't.
Source: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/toro-rosso-ocon-horner-mercedes/3172433/
 
Following Valtteri Bottas’ departure to Alfa Romeo Racing, George Russell will be team-mate to Lewis Hamilton from 2022
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team today confirmed that George Russell will become team-mate to reigning seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, beginning from the 2022 Formula One season as the sport enters a new era of technical regulations.

This confirmation follows the news that Valtteri Bottas will join Alfa Romeo Racing next year, after five highly successful seasons with Mercedes. Valtteri joined Mercedes in 2017, scoring 9 race wins, 54 podiums and 17 pole positions to date with the team.

He has played a pivotal role in Mercedes winning four Constructors’ World Championships since 2017, and his partnership with Lewis Hamilton will be recorded as one of the most successful in the sport’s history.

Valtteri will be succeeded by 23-year-old George Russell, who joined the Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 2017. George won that season’s GP3 Series championship, and became FIA Formula 2 champion the following year, before graduating to Formula One with Williams in 2019.

His work ethic and performance have continued to impress during his three seasons with Williams; he is now ready to make the step to Mercedes and to continue his career development alongside Lewis Hamilton, after signing a long-term contract with the team.
Click to expand...
 
XeNoN89 said:
Good news. I think he'll push Hamilton hard and hopefully take over to become world champion with them in the future.
Click to expand...

It's the obvious smart move from Mercedes. Hamilton will probably be around for no more than 2 more years and his last season could well be with Ferrari as a prestige drive for him and the Ferrari team having a 7/8 work times champion.
 
antijoke said:
Has Max changed nationality?
Click to expand...
Red Bull, at least recently, haven’t been able to match Mercedes over a whole season until this one. Which they’ve put a massive amount of money into developing the car and Mercedes haven’t. If Red Bull we’re behind it’s doubtful Mercedes would have brought any upgrades at all whereas RB see this as a final chance to beat them in the last season of the current regs. With the cost caps you’d have to think that RB have diverted funds from development of next years car into this one, potentially limiting their chances for next year. I have no doubt Max and RB will be there or thereabouts, but other teams will likely make progress too.
 
MissChief said:
If the car is good, and given Mercedes track record you’d have to expect it will be
Click to expand...

This doesn't seem to me to the slam dunk certainty that people are acting like it is. Mercedes domination is already remarkable in F1 history, to continue it through a major rule change would be a stunning achievement. It's surely more like that we'll see someone like Ferrari, McLaren, or Alpine be top dog next season.
 
Mr Jack said:
This doesn't seem to me to the slam dunk certainty that people are acting like it is. Mercedes domination is already remarkable in F1 history, to continue it through a major rule change would be a stunning achievement. It's surely more like that we'll see someone like Ferrari, McLaren, or Alpine be top dog next season.
Click to expand...
Oh absolutely it will mix the field up, but I’d still expect RB and Mercedes to be close to the fastest cars.
 
GR63 FTW :-) To be honest I am not expecting miracles from George vs Lewis cos Lewis racecraft is special but I expect to see Lewis pushed in qually even more
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom