According to Russian commentator Alexey Popov, George Russell’s move to Mercedes is ‘almost certain’. He also goes on to say that it will not be Hamilton who will be replaced.
As a result, it is possible that Bottas’ seat could be in danger.
However, Jenson Button claims that Bottas will not be losing his seat so easily. Button has been in Formula 1 for almost two decades and has been associated with Williams, Renault, and McLaren.
Button goes on to say that Bottas performing better than his Red Bull counterpart Sergio Perez is what the team expects from him.
What did Button say?
Button told PlanetF1: “Well the trouble is he’s doing a better job than Checo in the Red Bull so that’s all they need him to do.
“Lewis is backing Valtteri as he will because it means that he gets all the glory.
“Valtteri kind of challenges him in qualifying, which pushes him, but in the race it’s an easy win for Lewis, and the environment is good because Lewis backs Valtteri and Valtteri is not really challenging Lewis, they work together.
“It’s a great situation for everyone apart from the fans.”
Fans want it: Button
Button was also asked if Mercedes would do well with two of the best drivers on the team.
“The teams don’t, but everyone else does. Fans want it and that’s what the sport should be. It’s a tricky one isn’t it?
“When me and Lewis were teammates, we took wins off of each other, one of us could have probably won the World Championship if the other didn’t win the races that they did.
“I finished second in 2011, Lewis almost won in 2010, and if we didn’t take wins off of each other we would have won the championship.
“But that’s the way Formula 1 should be: having two great drivers in a team that can fight for a World Championship.”
Wolff talks about contract discussions
For the time being, Russell seems like a likely replacement for Bottas.
While there are rumours stating that Bottas’ contract will not get renewed by the end of this year, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has denied all claims.
Wolff said that Bottas will only be replaced if there is a health issue.
Talking about the contract negotiations, Wolff wants what is best for the team.
Wolff said, “Yes, it should be [more than a year]. We don’t want to be in a stressful situation every single year where we are absolutely flat-out trying to win races and needing to negotiate.
“I would rather that doesn’t happen every year. We just need to spend a day or two together, put it out there, and decide which are the difficult components.
“We will then lock the door and won’t walk out until it is sorted. That works best for us and it has worked best for us in the past,” he concluded.
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