‘Maybe I Know Something, Maybe I Don’t’: Bottas Tight-Lipped About Mercedes Future

Valtteri Bottas and George Russell have remained tight-lipped on who will be driving for Mercedes alongside Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2022, after both drivers gave a heavy indication that they know more than they are willing to divulge.

Formula 1 opened the press conference at Spa on Thursday by pairing the Mercedes and Williams drivers for questioning.

When asked if either of them knew where they would land next year, the two drivers stated that they had “no news to share.”

23-year-old Russell has been the favourite to replace Bottas in the coveted Mercedes seat ever since he drove as a substitute for Hamilton at Sakhir in 2020, when the seven-time World Champion was sidelined due to COVID.

When asked on Thursday if he had anything to share, Bottas replied: “Not really. Who knows, maybe I know something, maybe I don’t, but like I said, there’s no news to share.”

The interviewer pressed for an answer as to whether he knew something that he wasn’t letting on.

However, Bottas did not budge, stating again that “there is no news to share. I don’t need to clarify any reasons for that.”

He went on to say: “I think the same for me and George, that we have a job to do here, and there’s no news, and we’re going to focus on racing and getting maximum points for the team we are racing with.”

Russell shared a similar attitude towards the questions, but he added that he was “obviously in discussion over the summer break” but reiterated there was “nothing to announce.”

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Fans can expect to be waiting a little while longer for news on this, with Russell stating that an announcement is unlikely to be made next weekend.

“I think it’s no problem. Everything is you know… do things right rather than quickly, let’s say,” Russell added.

He added that he and Bottas both trust Mercedes “to look after our future one way or another.

“From my side, there are no real problems whether it’s tomorrow or after Abu Dhabi, I guess you have to trust the people who are looking out for you.”