Breaking news
Formula 1
Wolff: Bottas won’t lose 2021 Mercedes seat to Russell
Toto Wolff has put a stop to speculation about fast-tracking George Russell into the Mercedes Formula 1 in 2021 by formally confirming that Valtteri Bottas will retain his seat.
Adam Cooper
Published: Dec 13, 2020, 9:27 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Russell’s superb performance in last weekend’s Sakhir GP led to suggestions that Mercedes might try to engineer a swap that would see Bottas return to Williams next year and the British driver make a permanent step up.
However, Wolff stressed that he remains loyal to Bottas, and made it clear that Russell’s time will come.
“He's going to be in our car,” said Wolff. “I'm hereby confirming it. We have a contract with Valtteri.
"He's going to race next year. You need to kick me quite hard in a sensitive zone for me to ever lose my loyalty. And I am loyal to my two race drivers.
“In the same way, I'm loyal to our junior drivers. George did a phenomenal job last weekend. He deserves to be in a great car one day. He has a contract with Williams for another year.
“They have been very flexible and accommodating in having George, giving George to Mercedes this other weekend, and everything is going to go its way. But calmly, and in a structured way.”
Wolff admitted that Bottas had been put in a difficult position over the Sakhir weekend, with Russell “having nothing to lose” and making such a huge impact on his one-off appearance.
“I can relate to Valtteri’s situation,” said Wolff. “Because you’re having this tremendously fast teammate who has won seven world championships, and Valtteri has shown really great performances.
“He won the first race in Austria, and he’s been on pole several times, and he should have won more races if it wasn’t for red flags or punctures.
“And then losing it again when bad luck was really part of your campaign feels miserable, and in that respect, I think that a driver can sometimes then slip into a bubble where you feel that things are going against you.
“Last weekend was all around George. George had nothing to lose, and Valtteri had nothing to gain.
“In that respect, we had a good talk, an intelligent talk between us. It wasn’t like a eureka moment that suddenly I’ve been talking to him, I can just relate to his situation, and we’ve decided that we want to talk to each other more.”
Read Also:
- Wolff: It’s Hamilton’s call whether he’s fit enough to race
- Wolff: Bottas has "unconditional support" from Mercedes
Their renewed rapport was reflected in qualifying when Wolff took the unusual step of talking directly to Bottas on the radio, saying “All you have, Valtteri.”
“Every driver is different,” said Wolff. “And we have strict intercom protocols that we follow. And I remember when I was a racing driver, I was annoyed by the guys that leaned over into the cockpit and shook my hand before I got going.
“And, in that respect, I will always and the team will always adjust to the drivers modus operandi. And that's why I've never been on the radio unless we have a critical situation in the race.
“But when I discussed with Valtteri about how we could improve our communication, he said that he felt like a more open discussion or more open communication, even while it's being in the car is something that he would like to entertain.
“And I said to him, ‘Are you sure because I don't want to interfere into you driving the car?’ He said, ‘No, no, I'm actually up for it.’ And I've been thinking about it for a while.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article McLaren announces stake sale in Racing arm
Next article Leclerc explains Vettel Abu Dhabi helmet tribute gesture
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
8 h
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Valtteri Bottas completes three-day jungle ride to Singapore GP: "Your mind starts to play games at night"
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Mercedes
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
‘I’ll put a pillow under his butt’ – How Toto Wolff wants to solve Kimi Antonelli’s track limits problem
George Russell calls Red Bull "the team to beat" in F1, but Kimi Antonelli adds a key caveat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
George Russell calls Red Bull "the team to beat" in F1, but Kimi Antonelli adds a key caveat
Latest news
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
24 min
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 40 min
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
45 min
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe