Mercedes to help Valtteri Bottas find another seat if he is axed

Valtteri Bottas in conversation with Toto Wolff — Photo: © LAT Images

Mercedes

Mercedes to help Bottas find another seat if he is axed

Bottas has raced with Mercedes since 2017

Sam Hall

Friday 23 July 2021 05:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed he will help Valtteri Bottas find a drive elsewhere should he decide not to retain the Finn for next season.

Bottas is under pressure to sign another extension to his one-year rolling contract as George Russell appears favourite to partner Lewis Hamilton in 2022.

This season Bottas is proving himself to be a worthy team player, highlighted by the fact he helped Hamilton on three separate occasions during the British Grand Prix.

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Wolff is grateful for the role Bottas has played over the years and is determined he will not go unrewarded should he be axed in favour of Russell.

"If we were to come to the situation where we wanted to give someone else a go then it is not only my relationship with him but also my responsibility that he has a great future," said Wolff.

“He deserves that. He has been a team-mate of the best Formula 1 driver of all-time and that is not always very easy to shine [against], but he is fantastic.”

Bottas "a great team member"

In recent years, Mercedes has maintained there is no number one driver within its ranks despite Hamilton's championship success in each year alongside Bottas.

At Silverstone, however, this situation clearly changed as Bottas initially provided a tow in qualifying before allowing Hamilton to pass during the race after team orders were issued, as well as checking over the Briton's car for damage following his lap-one collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Acknowledging Bottas' contribution to Hamilton's race, and the role he plays overall, Wolff added: “He had a brilliant weekend in my opinion.

"He could have been on pole if he would have had a tow on Friday night. That obviously impacted his performance, and if you are on pole it is much easier.

“He was very quick on Sunday. He drove a really solid race, and just Lewis coming from behind on that hard [tyre] was just in another dimension to everybody on track.

“But Valtteri was the second quickest car out there and helped Lewis to secure the win. Valtteri is just a great team member, with the right character and right personality."