George Russell and Valtteri Bottas were both reluctant to speak on their chances of racing for Mercedes in 2022, with both drivers insisting that they had “no news to share” ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Mercedes has yet to reveal who of Russell or Bottas will partner Lewis Hamilton at the championship winning squad next season, with a decision expected by mid-September at the latest.
Interestingly, Russell and Bottas sat together in Thursday’s first media conference at Spa and both drivers were logically queried on their respective situations.
“There is no news to share yet,” said Bottas. “Maybe I know something, maybe I don’t. But like I said, there’s no news to share.”
Pressed on the issue and on whether a decision had perhaps been reached but could not be divulged yet, the Finn added: “There is no news to share. I don’t need to clarify any reasons for that.
“I think the same for me and George, that we have a job to do here, and there’s no news, and we’re going to focus on racing and getting maximum points for the team we are racing with.”
Russell echoed his colleague’s view but nevertheless added that he did not believe that news would be forthcoming before next weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
“[We were] still obviously in discussions over the summer break, but there’s nothing to announce one way or another this weekend, and probably not next weekend either, to be honest.
“I think it’s no problem. Do things right rather than quickly, let’s say.
“We’re both fortunate that we’re both sort of looked after in ways by Mercedes, and we both trust them to look after our futures, one way or another.
“From my side, speaking for myself, there are no real problems. Whether it’s tomorrow, whether it’s after Abu Dhabi, I guess you have to trust the people who are looking out for you.”
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Bottas was also untroubled by the lack of news, insisting that he was focused on F1’s upcoming consecutive three-race stint rather than on his contract situation for 2022.
“The situation overall, I’m fine with it completely,” Bottas said.
“Just really head down and focus for the weekend, and I’m pretty sure for the next weeks, they will definitely fly by with the triple header, and we have a pretty good battle on our hands as a team, so that’s the main focus.
“Things eventually will sort themselves out, and we’ll see.”
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