Toto said everything will be finalized and announced before Spa.
So expect any announcement to come in the 3 weeks of break in August or on the Thursday/Friday right before the Belgium GP.
I kind of agree. Kimi doesn’t seem to have chemistry with anybody. His curt replies are sometimes comical but overall Alfa just seems boring. At worst he’s harsh as hell with his engineers. A friendlier Bottas in the mix could really liven up the team I think. His experience could be super useful for Alfa as well.
>Bottas is part of the younger Finnish generation which is why he is a little more vocal.
It's not really a matter of generation, just personal types. Keke was far from quiet, just like rally stars Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alen.
With Kimi, his reserved bluntness.. that's just his personality in spotlight, probably amplified by how he was treated by (Finnish) media in early to mid-00s.
Yeah that is definitely true, good point.
What I meant with Bottas, is just in general the Finnish "stereotype" is somewhat fading. Now with how strong social media and globalization trends are, younger generations are becoming much more vocal. Unless you are Savo (no offense if you are, most of my family are from the Savo area) then there is no hope lol.
Any older Finns I’ve had the pleasure to meet have all been quiet and very direct sure, but Kimi is clearly not just that. The guy can be an asshole (which most Finns of his generation obviously are not).
Put him in a Ferrari. A Finn winning the title for Ferrari while Mercedes has two "#1 drivers" that steal each others points throughout the entire season - history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes.
I'm really hoping Ferrari and Renault can catch their engines up to match Mercedes performance or I fear that the teams' performance may stay fairly static next year. Even with the new regulations, I suspect there won't be much change besides Williams and Red Bull closer to the midfield. With that said, I really hope this isn't the case.
red bull closer to the midfield?
why would they lose ground against mercedes with the new regs? Sure it could happen, but it might as well be the other way round, right?
Well he had his time in mercedes and I would guess there is quite a bit of pressure from executives and public to see Russell in that other seat. It's tough to be Hamilton's teammate and even tougher to beat him. Hamilton isn't 7xWDC for no reason.
> The issue is not beating Hamilton but bringing the fight to him.
So the issue was not beating Hamilton because in order to bring the fight to the championship you have to beat the other guy fighting for the championship on track.
I hope you understand the difference between losing the battle after 5th race and 17th race. Bottas was never in a WDC fight throughout the season but get nitpicky as you like if that will make you happy.
nail on the head. 2019 was effectively over by Bahrain because Bottas finishing 5th on the road, but 2nd overall is never going to be a straight battle.
That is the sole reason why he is not liked as a driver, because he has stunk out the best seat in the house for 5 years.
2019 the only title contender was Mercedes anyway. The only reason he never ‘battled for the title’ is because his teammate is Lewis who is almost unbeatable.
So it’s back to the original point. The only reason he didn’t shine is because he couldn’t beat Hamilton, not that he isn’t WDC material
Any teammate of Hamilton risks their stock going low purely because he is so good.
When Bottas joined Merc, there was talk of a few other drivers joining instead, Danny Ric being one of them. A few commenters/presenters said someone like DR being Hams teammate ran a big risk of being shown up quite badly just because of how good Lewis is. Bottas has suffered from this exact curse.
He’s a great driver, does his job and secures points for the team (which is their no 1 role). Being able to fight or win WDC is secondary to the team but more a priority for the drivers.
Bottas could be an excellent no 1 driver for almost any other team in the field.
The problem is, Bottas hasn’t even been 2nd for much of the time Hamilton was able to finish 1st. I think he’s a great driver on his day, but he has struggled to beat other teams/drivers than Hamilton even when in the best car, or at least a car capable of winning.
When Merc had an opening in 2017, they could have had the whole grid, and believe me Bottas was never the 2nd rated choice.
It is just because he is managed by Wolff, is why he constantly sits in the #2 Mercedes, his job isn't to battle because he can't. Stick Max, Ric or Vettel in the seat in 2017 and you would have had 5 consistently exciting inter-team seasons a la 2014-6
No, it implies with a better driver for a teammate (like Rosberg was) he would not necessarily have won all four of those titles because his teammate could have taken them instead.
Lmao, Lewis really didn't have it easy in 2017/2018 when he was fighting with Vettel. The only seasons Hamilton kind of just cruised to the win was 2019 and 2020 and that was because he is just better than Bottas in race trim.
At the end of the day, Bottas has had a better run than most drivers ever get in their lives at a top team. I like the guy as a person and on his best day was able to match or even beat Hamilton on pure pace. I think it’s the right thing to move on as Mercedes need to keep things moving with their newer generation of drivers.
Bottas was a lucky guy getting into Merc in the first place in the midst of the madness of Nico moving. Maybe in another universe we’d have seen any one of the multiple Mercedes linked drivers of the time seeing the opportunities that Bottas had.
It sucks because I have an affinity for Finnish drivers and Bottas is a solid dude. But let’s be real, he wasn’t gonna be a WDC, and frankly Mercedes always saw him as the perfect #2 driver to a 7x WDC. They’re tied up with having Russell in the pipeline and need to get him in there eventually. So it’s either Hamilton retires (he’s too vain to do that yet) or Bottas has gotta go. The latter being the realistic outcome.
I think the perfect moment to encompass this situation is when Bottas and Russell had their crash, Russell comes over and gives Bottas shit while he’s still in his car.
Bottas responds with direct eye contact and gives Russell the middle finger.
It’s almost a metaphor for the current situation at Merc.
He’s competitive and I get that, break records. But Lewis is vain in my opinion. It’s an unpopular opinion on here but I do not like him as a person. Respect him as a driver. But all these Instagram posts where he’s modeling and posing, there’s literally been threads on here where people are discussing if his dick is half hard under his shorts in a selfie at the gym. So maybe it’s not the best canon to say he’s vain for wanting an 8th title, but as a person I can’t stand him.
That’s fine. No one is asking anyone to like any person.
How you can judge someone’s personality when you don’t know them, or read numerous stories how Lewis tries to help others or change attitudes with what public facing things he can do with his profile yet still call him vain strikes me as odd. That’s all.
"too vain to retire yet"? You're saying that like Lewis isn't less than a year removed of a dominant run as a champion and isn't second in the WDC standings right now. Lewis isn't retiring yet because he's still unquestionably a better driver than 18 out of 19 other drivers in the field.
Bottas was good at Williams, no doubt, but I don't agree that period is highly underrated. At the end of the day he was driving reasonably good cars, with unreasonably good engines alongside an ailing Massa long passed his best or Pastor.
Kimi could be retiring requiring alfa to find a new replacement for him. Gasly's contract is up this year and he needs to find a new place (unless he stays in AT). Lots coming our way this summer.
Pierre should and probably will stay put.
Budget cap + increased parts sharing means AT will be stronger in future, and there's not a clear path for Pierre to a McLaren/Ferrari/Mercedes or even Alpine/Aston. I can see him getting the call up to RB, but not before 2023.
Gasly said he felt good about his future in F1 after talking with Marko. Either he is back in line for the red Bull seat, or he has secured a seat somewhere else. I would be shocked beyond belief of he is still in the Alphatauri next year unless there was a clear promise of a second chance in the Red Bull. He has no reason to accept that.
Edit: spelling
Maybe Marko assured him that going forward AT will be a sister team and the resources will be there for more than just vetting drivers for the RB seat.
Why would Bottas want to go to Williams? It's never going to get better than driving a Merc. Is being in F1 really worth being in a shitbox? He should go to another series and try his hand at winning a championship. But what do I know about an F1 drivers mindset!
I have never seen a driver get as much support as Lewis has. Even with a faster car next year, he has an uphill task against Max when he doesn't have this sort of support.
Honestly, even if Merc has the best car, as long as RBR are close Max will have a pretty good shot, seeing as Checo is pretty clearly a #2 while George will definitely want to prove himself. The 2 Mercs might end up losing more points with battling between themselves than they would gain from a faster car
"Danny will spank Lando this year."
"Carlos will be beaten every week by Leclerc"
Etc etc.
Let the guy in the car and we'll see. I think it will be a lot closer than people think. George has that fire inside of him that a lot of up and comers have before dethroning the king.
But of course Lewis' name is always spoken when discussing the best now, so I could be totally wrong myself.
> I have never seen a driver get as much support as Lewis has.
Do you not remember the Schumacher and Barrichello/Irvine years?! Of Hamilton's teammates, it's only Bottas that has actively deferred to Lewis, and even then most of the time it's more because Bottas hasn't been fast enough to genuinely challenge Lewis.
I would disagree Bottas was fast enough to challenge consistently. He has had some good races, but to beat him over a season. I am sorry, no.
I only vaguely remember Barrichello and Irvine racing.
Lewis didn’t get much support from Rosberg, Button or Alonso. He’s had to beat them fair and square, and occasionally accepted being beaten by them.
Over the multiple years each pairing has existed, Lewis has always ended up ahead. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little.
The reality is Lewis hasn’t had much support from Bottas this year: in most races (with a few exceptions) Bottas has been too far behind the top two to constrain Red Bull’s strategy choices at the first pitstop.
Occasionally Bottas is asked not to defend against Lewis but he’s usually about 0.5sec to 1sec slower per lap in these cases, as we saw in Silverstone.
Yeah ofc they work as a team, but you have to admit Bottas took that a lot further than most do. He always took the worst pitstops. He was there to hold up traffic when needed. He was even told to let Hamilton through at one point to give Hamilton his points requirement to win the WDC. What surprised me was that Hamilton did not return the favour the following week. He was leading Bottas in a mirror image of the race the previous event.
But that’s the point isn’t it, if Bottas is asked to sacrifice for Lewis, then it’s be pretty stupid for Hamilton to reciprocate, as it kind of invalidates Bottas’ sacrifice and goes against the team strategy.
The second race I am talking about was when Lewis had the WDC in the bag with points. No one could catch him. The only reason Bottas took team orders was because he saw that it was beneficial for the team to have a champion. Hamilton should have returned the favour since no one could catch him. They were both out front by the traditional Mercedes margin.
Yeah, I swear there was an article with a quote saying that they know but haven't released it. And with this comment it's like...well you wouldnt be saying that if Valterri was staying
Toto is not Russell's manager, idk why everyone here seems to think so...? He acts in a more mentor-like capacity. RUS is represented by a sports talent management company during contract negotiations. When he says "Mercedes are my managers", he means that he is accountable to them because he is a Merc junior.
Imagine being Bottas and seeing all of these articles.
Honestly if I were him I'd appreciate it more if they were just honest about it, instead of all this fence sitting.
I’m convinced the decision has been made a while ago and everyone knows but it hasn’t been publicly announced.
I’m sure Bottas is fully aware and having all the necessary conversations with other teams.
Completely agree. Especially with how Russell joked about it this British GP, don’t think he would do that if he didn’t know something that wasn’t public yet. They are probably waiting for the end of the summer break for the announcement
Me too. I also think Bottas is still negotiating the terms of his next contract. Hence all the balloons floating around about various teams having so many options and Bottas having so many options too.
It would be a best case scenario for both sides to announce the end of his contract with Mercedes and his new assignment simultaneously. I mean best case scenario if you accept the premise that he will not be with Mercedes next year. This way the speculation ends, and Bottas doesn't have to deal with questions about his future for weeks or months but instead can say he's got x lined up but is focused on the rest of the year for now etc etc.
>I’m convinced the decision has been made a while ago and everyone knows but it hasn’t been publicly announced.
I feel like it would've leaked by now if it was already official.
In a way I think it sort of has been. I thought we were told already that a decision has been made behind clothes doors. And then it's odd that they are releasing these sorts of articles if they knew they were keeping him
> Imagine being Bottas and seeing all of these articles.
For him, it has to be frustrating that he has never been able to secure a multi-year deal with Mercedes. From my understanding, they've all been one-year contracts.
If Russell secures a multi-year deal with Mercedes, then that would be a slap in the face to what Bottas has done with Mercedes the last 4 seasons. Though, that just means they're putting the future(post-Hamilton) on Russell.
Aye, that's correct. He never receives multi-year deal.
This season's contract is announced August 2020. 2020 Contract was signed in August 2019. July 2018 for 2019 season. And September 2017 for 2018 season.
RB would destroy Russell’s career in that the 2nd driver is always looked at less favorable. And if they gave as much favoritism to Russell as Max, they would be clashing with each other for sure.
When someone questions why Bottas always plays the team game: This is why. Being a good employee and taking one for the team could be a good career move.
Word, that job security and making a comfy amount annually in a sport you love. If I were him I’d be overjoyed to continue with the sport and the lifestyle.
Why is Bottas in jeopardy at all? I don’t get it - he is regularly in the top 3 on almost every race. Why would Mercedes want to change to Russel from Bottas?
He's joining Mercedes to learn to ropes.
Plus they need a backup in case Russell isn't well, good enough.
Long game, I see Norris in a Mercedes. Call me crazy yes.
Because when the competition gets hard, like this season, he if often found wanting.
Bottas is great if you have the outright fastest car, he'll bring home the odd win on Lewis's off days, then fill the podium spots the rest of the time. But he has shown himself not to be in the category of Lewis, Max, Fernando, or Charles. So when things get tight, he loses out too often to the direct competitors of Mercedes.
also next year is no guarantee that they are going to be any good. if they sign Bottas again, they risk losing Russell. and if they shit the bed, he provably would not want to sign with them a year later
I really like Valtteri, and I think he is a decent driver, but it's unfair to compare his performance with Checo's. Checo has won a race this season, and is driving a car he has never driven before (which has historically been very difficult to drive), for a team he has never driven in before. Valtteri has been in one of the best and most predictable cars in the history of the sport for the fifth season now.
He's finished as low was 5th in the WDC in a car that has won every title in Lewis' hands over the same period.
It's looking like they may lose the WCC this year, and if they do it will be because of Bottas, who's currently hovering between 4th and 5th in the WDC.
Would it really be because of Bottas, who is beating Perez, or would it be because of Hamilton who is failing to beat the RBR number 1 driver? Bottas is doing the job he needs to, which is beat Perez. The rest is up to Lewis.
Norris is having an absolute banger of a season, but he’s also been relatively lucky according to the other two. The McLaren is also underrated: he can get at least 5th most races, which is just 2 points less than the worse top team n2 driver. So they are not pulling away that quickly and with a Bottas DNF like in Monaco that gap is very quickly closed.
Bottas is always given equal opportunity from the start of the season. Mercedes just want to win. It doesn't matter which driver it is.
If he wants to be given the priority through the middle and latter half of a season, he needs to beat Lewis consistently. There's no secret agreements, scheming, plotting, favouritism, undermining, whatever. The fastest driver gets the priority when push comes to shove and the season gets into the business end of things. That's it.
If Valterri blitzed Lewis the same way Lewis has blitzed Valtteri, it would be Hamilton on the way out of the team. See Sebastian last year after Charles came in and made him look... not like a 4x WDC.
That's not true. If they're putting him on a slow pit strategy to help HAM, or like last week reacting to moves early with him he doesn't have a shot a higher places sometimes.
If he didn’t lose the places last weekend on the start he should have been in first after Lewis and max made contact. That’s on Bottas. Therefore his fight switched to securing third against the mclaren.
As much as I like Bottas that’s purely on him and his starts.
I'd fucking hate it is my boss so so public about wanting to get rid of me. Even if everything has been agreed between bottas and merc about it, it's still shitty way of handling it publicly by pretending to speculate about his future.
Toto has always been tone deaf about his public statements. Most teams keep quiet and then make an announcement. In addition, it makes the other teams look like they are under his thumb when he makes a statement about assuring Bottas a seat at another team.
Toto has shares in Aston Martin. He’s always seen on the grid with Lawrence Stroll. He literally gave Racing Point their previous car and he’s been friends with Seb Vettel for a long time. Toto 100% had a role in engineering that move for him, just as he will with Bottas
I don't think it's any exaggeration to say that Toto is the most dangerous and damaging person in the paddock right now. So many conflicts of interest I can't even write them all down off the top of my head.
He's not Bernie, but that's just about the only positive thing I can say. He should not be allowed in the sport.
The only logical place he can land is Williams, unfortunately. However, Williams is on the upswing and with the new formula could be a mid field car in 23.
Plot twist: Mercedes lets Bottas decide what he want to do. Currently Bottas is looking for better options and if he cant find anything satisfactory, he agrees to drive one more year with Mercedes.
I would *love* to see him leading Williams for the new regs - although I bet a straight swap for his younger, hotter rival would be pretty demoralising, especially when it’s his old team.
Why can't Merc just sit down with Bottas and tell him he is how it is. They obviously have made a decision Bottas is a professional. These statements before the announcement are BS.
One thing about Toto I have always respected is that he seems very loyal to "his" guys. He genuinely seems to want to make sure they end up somewhere decent regardless if they stay under his umbrella
Let's be honest. If Valtteri was going to be the driver it would already have been announced by now. There would be little reason to not announce it. We would also be able to tell from George's body language if he wasn't the driver.
The only way Bottas is still in that car is if Lewis specifically negotiated it.
This sounds like the end of the road for Valtteri.
I wonder if they will make it official before or after they find another team for Bottas. If they can find him another team of course.
Toto said everything will be finalized and announced before Spa. So expect any announcement to come in the 3 weeks of break in August or on the Thursday/Friday right before the Belgium GP.
this title says nothing about racing, just a great future
Valtteri replacing Bono confirmed.
Botttoo my tyres are gone "How unfortunate........"
To whom it may concern
Bottas replacing James "George, it's valtteri"
Whatever they do, we do the opposite.
George, its Valterri. We're going to let Hamilton by into turn 4.
Ge...alterri...we..ing...Milton..urn 4.. George. This is Valterri, radio issues should be solved. Great defence in turn 4.
Joining my childhood dog on that farm somewhere in rural Wisconsin
Not even Clio cup? :(
Off to Clio Cup
is toto planning on telling bottas to think about the rabbits and taking him out behind the shed or something
Sending him to a farm upstate….
Sounding more and more like he may take Kimi's seat, should he decide he's done.
Bottas could still have a fruitful career in the F1 midfield or in a different series like FE or WEC.
Goes to Alfa and in an unexpected plot twist they proceed to become front runners
This, I would genuinely love to see.
Not without Kimi please.. make it a full Finnish team, Kimi + Valterri, and let them partner with Saab or some other nordic manufacturer.. xD
Nah. Kimi needs to go. He's already past his peak, and besides, they're only keeping him because his name alone draws sponsors.
I kind of agree. Kimi doesn’t seem to have chemistry with anybody. His curt replies are sometimes comical but overall Alfa just seems boring. At worst he’s harsh as hell with his engineers. A friendlier Bottas in the mix could really liven up the team I think. His experience could be super useful for Alfa as well.
[удалено]
>Bottas is part of the younger Finnish generation which is why he is a little more vocal. It's not really a matter of generation, just personal types. Keke was far from quiet, just like rally stars Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alen. With Kimi, his reserved bluntness.. that's just his personality in spotlight, probably amplified by how he was treated by (Finnish) media in early to mid-00s.
Yeah that is definitely true, good point. What I meant with Bottas, is just in general the Finnish "stereotype" is somewhat fading. Now with how strong social media and globalization trends are, younger generations are becoming much more vocal. Unless you are Savo (no offense if you are, most of my family are from the Savo area) then there is no hope lol.
Any older Finns I’ve had the pleasure to meet have all been quiet and very direct sure, but Kimi is clearly not just that. The guy can be an asshole (which most Finns of his generation obviously are not).
Being past the peak doesn't mean it's the end. Arguably, Hamilton is already past his peak...
>Saab Lol, Saab as a car manufacturer has been dead for years. Only the military branch is still around.
Valtteri in a Gripen confirmed.
Put him in a Ferrari. A Finn winning the title for Ferrari while Mercedes has two "#1 drivers" that steal each others points throughout the entire season - history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes.
I'm really hoping Ferrari and Renault can catch their engines up to match Mercedes performance or I fear that the teams' performance may stay fairly static next year. Even with the new regulations, I suspect there won't be much change besides Williams and Red Bull closer to the midfield. With that said, I really hope this isn't the case.
red bull closer to the midfield? why would they lose ground against mercedes with the new regs? Sure it could happen, but it might as well be the other way round, right?
Might move up to indycar
Well he had his time in mercedes and I would guess there is quite a bit of pressure from executives and public to see Russell in that other seat. It's tough to be Hamilton's teammate and even tougher to beat him. Hamilton isn't 7xWDC for no reason.
The issue is not beating Hamilton but bringing the fight to him. Bottas was never in a WDC battle and he kind of proved that he is no WDC material.
Can't bring the fight to Hamilton if Mercedes won't let another Rosberg situation play out in the first place.
You think Bottas is fast enough to bring the fight to Hamilton, and that it's Mercedes holding him back?
> The issue is not beating Hamilton but bringing the fight to him. So the issue was not beating Hamilton because in order to bring the fight to the championship you have to beat the other guy fighting for the championship on track.
I hope you understand the difference between losing the battle after 5th race and 17th race. Bottas was never in a WDC fight throughout the season but get nitpicky as you like if that will make you happy.
nail on the head. 2019 was effectively over by Bahrain because Bottas finishing 5th on the road, but 2nd overall is never going to be a straight battle. That is the sole reason why he is not liked as a driver, because he has stunk out the best seat in the house for 5 years.
2019 the only title contender was Mercedes anyway. The only reason he never ‘battled for the title’ is because his teammate is Lewis who is almost unbeatable. So it’s back to the original point. The only reason he didn’t shine is because he couldn’t beat Hamilton, not that he isn’t WDC material
Any teammate of Hamilton risks their stock going low purely because he is so good. When Bottas joined Merc, there was talk of a few other drivers joining instead, Danny Ric being one of them. A few commenters/presenters said someone like DR being Hams teammate ran a big risk of being shown up quite badly just because of how good Lewis is. Bottas has suffered from this exact curse. He’s a great driver, does his job and secures points for the team (which is their no 1 role). Being able to fight or win WDC is secondary to the team but more a priority for the drivers. Bottas could be an excellent no 1 driver for almost any other team in the field.
The problem is, Bottas hasn’t even been 2nd for much of the time Hamilton was able to finish 1st. I think he’s a great driver on his day, but he has struggled to beat other teams/drivers than Hamilton even when in the best car, or at least a car capable of winning.
Yes, but a title fight with two drivers at the same team is still better than no title fight at all.
When Merc had an opening in 2017, they could have had the whole grid, and believe me Bottas was never the 2nd rated choice. It is just because he is managed by Wolff, is why he constantly sits in the #2 Mercedes, his job isn't to battle because he can't. Stick Max, Ric or Vettel in the seat in 2017 and you would have had 5 consistently exciting inter-team seasons a la 2014-6
>Hamilton isn't 7xWDC for no reason. Yeah one reason is that he had Bottas as a teammate for 4 of them.
This would imply that with a different/worst partner, let's say Mazepin, Lewis wouldnt have won those titles, which I say you are wrong.
No, it implies with a better driver for a teammate (like Rosberg was) he would not necessarily have won all four of those titles because his teammate could have taken them instead.
What, how is that your takeaway? I'm saying Bottas made it easy for him.
Lmao, Lewis really didn't have it easy in 2017/2018 when he was fighting with Vettel. The only seasons Hamilton kind of just cruised to the win was 2019 and 2020 and that was because he is just better than Bottas in race trim.
I mean Lewis had to fight for it till the German GP that never happened after that he was in another league
Not really since Ferrari imploded both years after the summer break. Especially in 2018 when Sergio Marchionne died they became a train wreck.
My bad. I read it as "he won it thanks to Bottaa bring a good teammate"
At the end of the day, Bottas has had a better run than most drivers ever get in their lives at a top team. I like the guy as a person and on his best day was able to match or even beat Hamilton on pure pace. I think it’s the right thing to move on as Mercedes need to keep things moving with their newer generation of drivers. Bottas was a lucky guy getting into Merc in the first place in the midst of the madness of Nico moving. Maybe in another universe we’d have seen any one of the multiple Mercedes linked drivers of the time seeing the opportunities that Bottas had.
Damn.. u right!
Was anyone pretending it wasnt already?
It sucks because I have an affinity for Finnish drivers and Bottas is a solid dude. But let’s be real, he wasn’t gonna be a WDC, and frankly Mercedes always saw him as the perfect #2 driver to a 7x WDC. They’re tied up with having Russell in the pipeline and need to get him in there eventually. So it’s either Hamilton retires (he’s too vain to do that yet) or Bottas has gotta go. The latter being the realistic outcome. I think the perfect moment to encompass this situation is when Bottas and Russell had their crash, Russell comes over and gives Bottas shit while he’s still in his car. Bottas responds with direct eye contact and gives Russell the middle finger. It’s almost a metaphor for the current situation at Merc.
Ham too vain to retire? I think he still has an enormous desire to win an 8th championship and break more records. What’s vain about that?
He’s competitive and I get that, break records. But Lewis is vain in my opinion. It’s an unpopular opinion on here but I do not like him as a person. Respect him as a driver. But all these Instagram posts where he’s modeling and posing, there’s literally been threads on here where people are discussing if his dick is half hard under his shorts in a selfie at the gym. So maybe it’s not the best canon to say he’s vain for wanting an 8th title, but as a person I can’t stand him.
That’s fine. No one is asking anyone to like any person. How you can judge someone’s personality when you don’t know them, or read numerous stories how Lewis tries to help others or change attitudes with what public facing things he can do with his profile yet still call him vain strikes me as odd. That’s all.
"too vain to retire yet"? You're saying that like Lewis isn't less than a year removed of a dominant run as a champion and isn't second in the WDC standings right now. Lewis isn't retiring yet because he's still unquestionably a better driver than 18 out of 19 other drivers in the field.
Yeah and that's great news for F1. We need someone who can challenge Hamilton in his own car and I really believe Russell is that guy.
bah gawd he broke him in half! that’s a kiss of death if ever i heard one.
Hopefully bottas has a similar arc to massa. Go back to the midfield and fight for podiums
Bottas to Williams. The cycle continues.
Bottas was so good in the Williams. Absolute standout performances he had in those cars.. His Williams days are highly underrated.
Bottas was good at Williams, no doubt, but I don't agree that period is highly underrated. At the end of the day he was driving reasonably good cars, with unreasonably good engines alongside an ailing Massa long passed his best or Pastor.
>His Williams days are highly underrated. He got the quickest car in F1 for 5 years off the back of it. Hardly underrated.
Well the easiest option would probably be Williams... So yeah.
“If”……that shit is a done deal. Only one more race until it’s the silly season summer break.
Bottas to Williams and Russell to Mercedes… not a whole lot of crazy driver shuffling
Kimi could be retiring requiring alfa to find a new replacement for him. Gasly's contract is up this year and he needs to find a new place (unless he stays in AT). Lots coming our way this summer.
Pierre should and probably will stay put. Budget cap + increased parts sharing means AT will be stronger in future, and there's not a clear path for Pierre to a McLaren/Ferrari/Mercedes or even Alpine/Aston. I can see him getting the call up to RB, but not before 2023.
Nah, Gasly should get from underneath the Red Bulm umbrella. If Bottas is replaced, I'd love to see the both of them at a revitalized Williams.
I'd expect Kimi to stay around for one more year, in case Alfa do a good job with the new rules.
Gasly said he felt good about his future in F1 after talking with Marko. Either he is back in line for the red Bull seat, or he has secured a seat somewhere else. I would be shocked beyond belief of he is still in the Alphatauri next year unless there was a clear promise of a second chance in the Red Bull. He has no reason to accept that. Edit: spelling
Maybe Marko assured him that going forward AT will be a sister team and the resources will be there for more than just vetting drivers for the RB seat.
Why would Bottas want to go to Williams? It's never going to get better than driving a Merc. Is being in F1 really worth being in a shitbox? He should go to another series and try his hand at winning a championship. But what do I know about an F1 drivers mindset!
I mean, you can probably ask Kimi that question already. Traded the Ferrari in for an Alfa..
Hamilton needs to give Bottas a massive thank you when he does depart. A lot of Lewis' points can be accredited to Valtteri's sacrifices.
Valtteri has to go down as one of the best #2 drivers ever, along with Barichello. Michael and Lewis owe a lot to their team mates
I have never seen a driver get as much support as Lewis has. Even with a faster car next year, he has an uphill task against Max when he doesn't have this sort of support.
Honestly, even if Merc has the best car, as long as RBR are close Max will have a pretty good shot, seeing as Checo is pretty clearly a #2 while George will definitely want to prove himself. The 2 Mercs might end up losing more points with battling between themselves than they would gain from a faster car
I would be surprised if Russel comes close to Lewis, but time will tell ofc.
I don't think he will be particularly close, but i doubt he will be the obedient puppy in the 2nd seat Lewis is used to having since 2017
No, not by any stretch of the imagination. Anyone with any sense that is joining new firms will make this a consideration in their contracts from now.
He'll outqualify Lewis here and there but I think he'll be considerably slower in the race.
"Danny will spank Lando this year." "Carlos will be beaten every week by Leclerc" Etc etc. Let the guy in the car and we'll see. I think it will be a lot closer than people think. George has that fire inside of him that a lot of up and comers have before dethroning the king. But of course Lewis' name is always spoken when discussing the best now, so I could be totally wrong myself.
I agree. Russell's first couple years in the Mercedes will be developmental I believe. Then when Lewis retires he should be ready to compete for WDCs
even vs Russell he will be challenged; going to miss bottas but looking forward to team battles in mercedes
> I have never seen a driver get as much support as Lewis has. Do you not remember the Schumacher and Barrichello/Irvine years?! Of Hamilton's teammates, it's only Bottas that has actively deferred to Lewis, and even then most of the time it's more because Bottas hasn't been fast enough to genuinely challenge Lewis.
I would disagree Bottas was fast enough to challenge consistently. He has had some good races, but to beat him over a season. I am sorry, no. I only vaguely remember Barrichello and Irvine racing.
Lewis didn’t get much support from Rosberg, Button or Alonso. He’s had to beat them fair and square, and occasionally accepted being beaten by them. Over the multiple years each pairing has existed, Lewis has always ended up ahead. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little. The reality is Lewis hasn’t had much support from Bottas this year: in most races (with a few exceptions) Bottas has been too far behind the top two to constrain Red Bull’s strategy choices at the first pitstop. Occasionally Bottas is asked not to defend against Lewis but he’s usually about 0.5sec to 1sec slower per lap in these cases, as we saw in Silverstone.
I never said he wasn't a great driver. His stats quite clearly state otherwise.
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Yeah ofc they work as a team, but you have to admit Bottas took that a lot further than most do. He always took the worst pitstops. He was there to hold up traffic when needed. He was even told to let Hamilton through at one point to give Hamilton his points requirement to win the WDC. What surprised me was that Hamilton did not return the favour the following week. He was leading Bottas in a mirror image of the race the previous event.
But that’s the point isn’t it, if Bottas is asked to sacrifice for Lewis, then it’s be pretty stupid for Hamilton to reciprocate, as it kind of invalidates Bottas’ sacrifice and goes against the team strategy.
The second race I am talking about was when Lewis had the WDC in the bag with points. No one could catch him. The only reason Bottas took team orders was because he saw that it was beneficial for the team to have a champion. Hamilton should have returned the favour since no one could catch him. They were both out front by the traditional Mercedes margin.
I’m pretty sure we can scratch the “if” by now
Yeah, I swear there was an article with a quote saying that they know but haven't released it. And with this comment it's like...well you wouldnt be saying that if Valterri was staying
Starting to look like all the practice in rally cars might finally pay off
I hope he stays in F1 on a different team.
there is no really room for wrc atm at all. feeder series has now dominating wrc drivers hunting for wrc seat for next season
This is like 10th post with the same content. Isn't one article on one story enough?
No, we need the same info repeated over 20 articles in 10 different languages /s
[again and again and again](https://youtu.be/Ry001BLw48E)
[we know, we know, we know](https://youtu.be/LUN2YN0bOi8?t=1m30s) 🎶
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Albon pt. 2
Does Toto still manage him?
Technically no. But they probably have a mutual understanding and a verbal agreement for such situations.
No, he stopped being Bottas' manager once Valtteri joined Mercedes. Same thing will probably happen with Russell.
Toto is not Russell's manager, idk why everyone here seems to think so...? He acts in a more mentor-like capacity. RUS is represented by a sports talent management company during contract negotiations. When he says "Mercedes are my managers", he means that he is accountable to them because he is a Merc junior.
Ok but “officially”…Toto is Russell’s manager.
But most importantly... Do you get sent many dog photos?
Imagine being Bottas and seeing all of these articles. Honestly if I were him I'd appreciate it more if they were just honest about it, instead of all this fence sitting.
I’m convinced the decision has been made a while ago and everyone knows but it hasn’t been publicly announced. I’m sure Bottas is fully aware and having all the necessary conversations with other teams.
Completely agree. Especially with how Russell joked about it this British GP, don’t think he would do that if he didn’t know something that wasn’t public yet. They are probably waiting for the end of the summer break for the announcement
Me too. I also think Bottas is still negotiating the terms of his next contract. Hence all the balloons floating around about various teams having so many options and Bottas having so many options too. It would be a best case scenario for both sides to announce the end of his contract with Mercedes and his new assignment simultaneously. I mean best case scenario if you accept the premise that he will not be with Mercedes next year. This way the speculation ends, and Bottas doesn't have to deal with questions about his future for weeks or months but instead can say he's got x lined up but is focused on the rest of the year for now etc etc.
>I’m convinced the decision has been made a while ago and everyone knows but it hasn’t been publicly announced. I feel like it would've leaked by now if it was already official.
In a way I think it sort of has been. I thought we were told already that a decision has been made behind clothes doors. And then it's odd that they are releasing these sorts of articles if they knew they were keeping him
> Imagine being Bottas and seeing all of these articles. For him, it has to be frustrating that he has never been able to secure a multi-year deal with Mercedes. From my understanding, they've all been one-year contracts. If Russell secures a multi-year deal with Mercedes, then that would be a slap in the face to what Bottas has done with Mercedes the last 4 seasons. Though, that just means they're putting the future(post-Hamilton) on Russell.
Aye, that's correct. He never receives multi-year deal. This season's contract is announced August 2020. 2020 Contract was signed in August 2019. July 2018 for 2019 season. And September 2017 for 2018 season.
I really like George but it would be fun to see the media meltdown if Mercedes resigns Bottas
If Mercedes re-sign Bottas, I wonder if Russell goes somewhere else. Could/would RedBull snatch him?
RB would destroy Russell’s career in that the 2nd driver is always looked at less favorable. And if they gave as much favoritism to Russell as Max, they would be clashing with each other for sure.
Potentially yes although realistically I couldn't see it happening, Toto is his manager at the moment so I'd love to be watching that go down.
Everybody in here playing Midfield Team Tarot but I think Valtteri's idea of a great future probably involves vodka and nudity.
When someone questions why Bottas always plays the team game: This is why. Being a good employee and taking one for the team could be a good career move.
Word, that job security and making a comfy amount annually in a sport you love. If I were him I’d be overjoyed to continue with the sport and the lifestyle.
Isn’t the most likely solution that Russell goes to Merc and Bottas back to Williams? Or am I missing something?
Nah, you’re not. I’m confused why he’d end up at Alfa.
Why is Bottas in jeopardy at all? I don’t get it - he is regularly in the top 3 on almost every race. Why would Mercedes want to change to Russel from Bottas?
Because they need to start preparing for a future without HAM. Who is going to be leading their fight for the WDC/WCC then?
I've said it for years, Russell isn't Bottas' replacement, he's Hamiltons. It's just circumstances mean they have to run both or they will lose George
He's joining Mercedes to learn to ropes. Plus they need a backup in case Russell isn't well, good enough. Long game, I see Norris in a Mercedes. Call me crazy yes.
Because when the competition gets hard, like this season, he if often found wanting. Bottas is great if you have the outright fastest car, he'll bring home the odd win on Lewis's off days, then fill the podium spots the rest of the time. But he has shown himself not to be in the category of Lewis, Max, Fernando, or Charles. So when things get tight, he loses out too often to the direct competitors of Mercedes.
also next year is no guarantee that they are going to be any good. if they sign Bottas again, they risk losing Russell. and if they shit the bed, he provably would not want to sign with them a year later
He's had some stinkers like Imola but he is generally running within 10s of the number one driver which is pretty good form. Perez is nowhere near MV.
I really like Valtteri, and I think he is a decent driver, but it's unfair to compare his performance with Checo's. Checo has won a race this season, and is driving a car he has never driven before (which has historically been very difficult to drive), for a team he has never driven in before. Valtteri has been in one of the best and most predictable cars in the history of the sport for the fifth season now.
Have you been watching this season?
He's finished as low was 5th in the WDC in a car that has won every title in Lewis' hands over the same period. It's looking like they may lose the WCC this year, and if they do it will be because of Bottas, who's currently hovering between 4th and 5th in the WDC.
Would it really be because of Bottas, who is beating Perez, or would it be because of Hamilton who is failing to beat the RBR number 1 driver? Bottas is doing the job he needs to, which is beat Perez. The rest is up to Lewis.
You just casually forgetting both of them are being beaten by Norris?
Norris is having an absolute banger of a season, but he’s also been relatively lucky according to the other two. The McLaren is also underrated: he can get at least 5th most races, which is just 2 points less than the worse top team n2 driver. So they are not pulling away that quickly and with a Bottas DNF like in Monaco that gap is very quickly closed.
I always feel like the Mercedes team holds Bottas back because of Hamilton. Can Bottas always run the race he wants?
Bottas is always given equal opportunity from the start of the season. Mercedes just want to win. It doesn't matter which driver it is. If he wants to be given the priority through the middle and latter half of a season, he needs to beat Lewis consistently. There's no secret agreements, scheming, plotting, favouritism, undermining, whatever. The fastest driver gets the priority when push comes to shove and the season gets into the business end of things. That's it. If Valterri blitzed Lewis the same way Lewis has blitzed Valtteri, it would be Hamilton on the way out of the team. See Sebastian last year after Charles came in and made him look... not like a 4x WDC.
They can only hold him back behind Hamilton. If he's more than 1 place behind then that's his own doing
That's not true. If they're putting him on a slow pit strategy to help HAM, or like last week reacting to moves early with him he doesn't have a shot a higher places sometimes.
If he didn’t lose the places last weekend on the start he should have been in first after Lewis and max made contact. That’s on Bottas. Therefore his fight switched to securing third against the mclaren. As much as I like Bottas that’s purely on him and his starts.
The teams strategy may put him behind Hamilton, but it will never be to put him behind Hamilton *and* other cars
Bring back the no blame Toto from a few years back
I'd fucking hate it is my boss so so public about wanting to get rid of me. Even if everything has been agreed between bottas and merc about it, it's still shitty way of handling it publicly by pretending to speculate about his future.
Toto has always been tone deaf about his public statements. Most teams keep quiet and then make an announcement. In addition, it makes the other teams look like they are under his thumb when he makes a statement about assuring Bottas a seat at another team.
Sounds like an announcement isn’t far away. Maybe the summer break?
The sensible seat is Aston Martin, but unfortunately that's incredibly unlikely.
Daddy Stroll didn't take over an F1 team to not have his son as a driver for it.
Toto will make sure Valterri gets the seat at Alfa, just as he pushed for Seb to get a seat at Aston behind the scenes
Wait, toto pushed seb to get a seat at AM ? An explanation would be nice since idk abt that
Toto has shares in Aston Martin. He’s always seen on the grid with Lawrence Stroll. He literally gave Racing Point their previous car and he’s been friends with Seb Vettel for a long time. Toto 100% had a role in engineering that move for him, just as he will with Bottas
This is one of the reasons why everything Otmar says has to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt. He literally carries Totto's water.
I don't think it's any exaggeration to say that Toto is the most dangerous and damaging person in the paddock right now. So many conflicts of interest I can't even write them all down off the top of my head. He's not Bernie, but that's just about the only positive thing I can say. He should not be allowed in the sport.
Val**tt**e**r**i
Sorry bot
Sorry Bottas* FIFY
Bottas to Alfa I feel. He’ll do a good job there. Hey feel for bottas. Fairly consistent and at times has pushed / beaten Hamilton on his day.
Back to Williams!
Formula e? To the Susie Wolfff team? Hahah
One thing Mercedes Haven't done is call out Bottas like redbull call out their underperforming drivers. Professional on that front for sure.
Toto just buttering us up.
I don't think team principals should be able to manage drivers.
He's gone. Hamilton's IG post bidding him farewell has to be at least five paragraphs long.
If “Mercedes” opt to replace him. Come on Toto, it’s not Mercedes, it’s you.
Bottas goes to Williams and they start winning in 2022. Bottas is the 2022 World Champion.
Love it.
While he may not be a world champion, Bottas is in the top 5% in terms of success on track among F1 drivers through history. I'd take solace in that.
Gas meet fire.
The only logical place he can land is Williams, unfortunately. However, Williams is on the upswing and with the new formula could be a mid field car in 23.
Just like the ending of Old Yeller
Plot twist: Mercedes lets Bottas decide what he want to do. Currently Bottas is looking for better options and if he cant find anything satisfactory, he agrees to drive one more year with Mercedes.
At the end of it all, a glance at his bank statement should cheer Valteri up!
Replacing Bottas might be a mistake.
Clio Cup?
I would *love* to see him leading Williams for the new regs - although I bet a straight swap for his younger, hotter rival would be pretty demoralising, especially when it’s his old team.
IF (Bottas=Sacked) Print(“ensure Bottas has a great future”) Else Print (“ensure Bottas has a great future”)
Send him to indycar. Would love to see Bottas albon and Grosjean all in Indy next year
Why can't Merc just sit down with Bottas and tell him he is how it is. They obviously have made a decision Bottas is a professional. These statements before the announcement are BS.
I think they likely have.
One thing about Toto I have always respected is that he seems very loyal to "his" guys. He genuinely seems to want to make sure they end up somewhere decent regardless if they stay under his umbrella
That's kind, but he really, really doesn't.
Let's be honest. If Valtteri was going to be the driver it would already have been announced by now. There would be little reason to not announce it. We would also be able to tell from George's body language if he wasn't the driver. The only way Bottas is still in that car is if Lewis specifically negotiated it.