Lets talk Bottas

**N. Jones** · 31st August 2021, 22:02

Lets talk Bottas

Let's not and say we did.

**F1nKS** · 1st September 2021, 03:44

Originally Posted by Firstgear

I've got to disagree F1nKS. I think he will behave much more like Leclerc did in his first year at Ferrari. He said all the right things..willing to learn and be mentored and play a support roll. That only lasted as long as he was slower. As soon as he was on pace, he made the team his and was not willing to let the senior driver hang around and retire from the team at the time of his choosing. I think all (or most) F1 drivers would do the same.

You could be right, if Hamilton does start to slow down, it would be hard to expect George to slow down with him.

But the evidence for George is there to be seen from his one race in the Mercedes last year. He didn't patiently stay behind Bottas...he went for it the second he smelled blood.

I don't agree with you here. There should have been no expectation that George was going to bow down to Bottas - everybody knew this was his test to show where he stacked up against Bottas. I personally thought he was overrated up to this race.

**The Black Knight** · 1st September 2021, 07:10

Originally Posted by truefan72

wow has it?
I was sure he was going to williams.
Perhaps williams didn't want him.

So I believe that Illot and DeVries are going to be at Williams in 2022
I see Zhou becoming the Renault 3rd driver and then possibly taking over for Alonso in 2023

very interesting!

I've heard De Vries is going to Alfa and Gio is being dropped with Kimi retiring. I'm not as convinced on this as the other rumour though. This is just what I've heard disclaimer so maybe none of it will come to pass. All will be confirmed over coming days I suspect.

**airshifter** · 1st September 2021, 14:27

Well at least we had something to fill the gap after Spa.

Merc would be fools to not have Russell, and personally I think if he ends up in a Merc they will allow him to race Lewis. With the new cars they will both be having to get the feel, and holding anyone back would be foolish. I do expect the field to tighten up, after all if the cars are slower more drivers should be able to find the limits of them on a more regular basis. If Lewis gets the WDC this year it might be to George's benefit, as Lewis might not race quite so hard for another title once he already has the more WDC's. Then again..... he might race even harder wanting to get that first title in the new hardware.

Until it all happens we can't be sure. George should fill that void better than Bottas IMHO, as he is still very hungry and has a better chance at challenging for wins. And we still don't know where Merc will fall with the new cars, though it seems they have put a lot of budget towards their effort.

**truefan72** · 1st September 2021, 15:33

Originally Posted by airshifter

Well at least we had something to fill the gap after Spa.

Merc would be fools to not have Russell, and personally I think if he ends up in a Merc they will allow him to race Lewis. With the new cars they will both be having to get the feel, and holding anyone back would be foolish. I do expect the field to tighten up, after all if the cars are slower more drivers should be able to find the limits of them on a more regular basis. If Lewis gets the WDC this year it might be to George's benefit, as Lewis might not race quite so hard for another title once he already has the more WDC's. Then again..... he might race even harder wanting to get that first title in the new hardware.

Until it all happens we can't be sure. George should fill that void better than Bottas IMHO, as he is still very hungry and has a better chance at challenging for wins. And we still don't know where Merc will fall with the new cars, though it seems they have put a lot of budget towards their effort.

I think Toto all but acknowledged that Russel is coming to Mercedes. From every perspective it makes sense for 2022.
I think the only hold up is where Bottas is going to land and Toto probably (although it really is out of his control IMO) wants to ensure that before making the announcement. He said as much.
But it is just wasting everybody's time and I'm sure Bottas and his team are capable of finding their own deal.
We shall see.

**airshifter** · 1st September 2021, 15:40

I agree.... but then again I haven't heard any of it out of Toto's mouth.

I've seen so many articles claiming differing things that it might just be a media storm about nothing. Somebody in that mix is probably rights.... but maybe not as well.

At this point it would almost be comical to find out nobody is moving.

**The Black Knight** · 1st September 2021, 21:14

Originally Posted by The Black Knight

I've heard De Vries is going to Alfa and Gio is being dropped with Kimi retiring. I'm not as convinced on this as the other rumour though. This is just what I've heard disclaimer so maybe none of it will come to pass. All will be confirmed over coming days I suspect.

Kimi retiring from F1. This article in ESPN reporting pretty much everything I mentioned above:

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...nt-f1-end-2021

**Nitrodaze** · 1st September 2021, 22:30

Originally Posted by The Black Knight

Kimi retiring from F1. This article in ESPN reporting pretty much everything I mentioned above:

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...nt-f1-end-2021

The Iceman is bowing out at the end of the season. Which means, there is a good chance Bottas is heading to Alfa Romeo. my instincts say he would be heading back to Williams to lead the team. The recent showings might suggest Williams might have a good car in the new era.