Mercedes are reportedly planning to acquire the services of the 23-year-old British Formula 1 driver George Russell on a two-year deal. And if the rumours doing rounds are to be believed then Russell is going to replace Valtteri Bottas after Finn’s poor start in the 2021 season. Bottas’ desire to become the 2021 World Champion is all but over as he sits behind his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
To make matters worse for Bottas, now he is also behind McLaren’s Lando Norris after three third-place finishes and two retirements.
Now in a new development Alexey Popov, Russian Formula 1 commentator, has claimed that Russell is moving to Mercedes and not at the place of seven times world champion Hamilton. “I will not disclose the source, but there is always a lot of talk in the paddock in Monaco,” Popov told Match TV, before adding, “They told me that Russell’s move to Mercedes for at least two years, and not in Hamilton’s place, is already practically done.”
https://www.carandbike.com/news/f1-russell-to-replace-bottas-at-mercedes-in-a-2-year-deal-says-report-2451400?pfrom=nav_storyicon_link
Russell, who is currently associated with Williams, is placed at the 17th spot in the F1 standing and is yet to score a point despite his brilliant qualifying form.
Popov also speculated that Mercedes and Williams could plan a direct swap between Bottas and Russell. Bottas has also represented Williams in the past from 2013 to 2016. After joining Mercedes, the 31-year-old has won nine races – three in 2017, four in 2019, and two in 2020.
Bottas is currently placed at the fourth spot in the F1 table after his disastrous pits stop at the last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Toto 💬 “Valtteri led our fight all weekend. He was set for a strong podium finish if it wasn’t for the wheel nut problem which forced him to DNF.“I’ve never seen something like that before in my years in racing and it must have felt awful in the cockpit as his rivals went by.” pic.twitter.com/Auz6y6FjUG
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 24, 2021
Despite all the speculations regarding Bottas’ future, Toto Wolff, the man with the power to decide the driver’s future, heaped praises on the 31-year-old for his fighting spirit last week.
Tags: Valtteri Bottas, F1, Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell
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