After today’s news of Red Bull Racing deciding to stick with the veteran Sergio Perez for the 2022 season rather than dip in their pool of experienced younger drivers from their academy, everyone is asking the same 2 questions. Who is Mercedes going to put in the 2nd seat to be teammates with Sir Lewis Hamilton for the upcoming F1 season in 2022 and when will they finally make a decision?
After 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton signed on for 2 more years at Mercedes earlier this year, much earlier than last years/last minute 1-year deal that had people thinking maybe this year could have been his last, many believed that Mercedes had a clear plans for their upcoming season driver lineup and a decision would be made over summer break. Well, summer break has come and gone and other than some sultry Lewis Hamilton pics on Instagram, we didn’t get much of an answer on who is going to be by his side and competing with Lewis.
Valterri Bottas joined up with Mercedes in 2017 after spending 4 seasons with Williams Racing when Nico Rosberg left the team following a championship season. In his first season with the team he had 13 podiums, tying him with Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, and went on to win the Constructors Championship alongside Hamilton. Mercedes has won 4 championships since Bottas joined the team and he has been a steady force of points to go along with the brilliance of Hamilton. Bottas has been on 1-year deals with Mercedes so the following year is never a guarantee, but with the success of the team I’m sure he was always confident he was going to get another year. This year is different however, Red Bull is now neck and neck in terms of performance and has looked like the better team for most of the 2021 season. And after signing Perez for another year, team Principal Christian Horner made a comment about how signing Perez now allows them to put their focus on the battle that is the 2021 Constructors championship. Was this yet another subtle shot over at Mercedes and how if they keep dragging out the decision for next year it could hinder the team this year and cost them another title. If Mercedes and Team Principal Toto Wolfe already knows who the driver is going to be for next season, like he said this weekend in Belgium, is holding the info close to the chest the best way to go for team Morale? Say the decision is to go elsewhere and Bottas is no longer on the team, what will keep Valterri from driving for himself and not following team strategy? I’m not saying he is the type of guy who would do something like that, but F1 is a very selfish sport and the “team” aspect of it is very touchy to say the least. Valterri Bottas would still need a seat for next season and would be showing the other teams he can be the #1 driver if need be.
George Russell, the 23 year old British wonder, is already a fan favorite and has been “the next guy up” for Mercedes for about 3 years now. He has been on a 3-year contract to drive for Williams Racing and is a part of the Mercedes Junior driver program. If the chance to take that Mercedes seat presented itself in previous seasons, he could and would have, but with Bottas signing 1 year deals every year, Russell’s future has just been in limbo as he waits for Toto Wolfe to finally pull the trigger. When he was given the chance last year to drive a Mercedes car, when Lewis Hamilton came down with COVID for the Sakhir Grand Prix, Russell drove brilliantly after narrowly being outqualified by Bottas. He beat Bottas off line and was cruising in the lead and pulling away easily before disaster after disaster kept striking. Safety cars, a terrible pit stop mistake by Mercedes where they mixed up the drivers tires, and then after Russell fought back and passed Bottas again he had a puncture in a tire and he was out of contention. Even more impressive is the fact that he barely fit in the car that was built for the smaller Hamilton and still drove the way he did. At the end of this season George’s 3-year contract is up and the general consensus has been that next season is the year for Russell to join Mercedes. And the decision was supposed to be made during summer break. But, as the race weekend in Belgium is under way and no decision yet, all we can do is wait.
Everyone is staying tight lipped this weekend in Belgium so far but we were told that Mercedes does know who their 2nd driver will be. My guess, George Russell will be joining Mercedes next season forming an all British team and Valterri Bottas will be the lead driver for Williams.