The 2021 F1 season has been disappointing for Valtteri Bottas so far. He is not only struggling with poor results with Mercedes but also trying to address rumours and questions about George Russell joining Mercedes in 2022 which means the 31-year-old will be left without a seat.
The last two race weekends have been very tough for the Finn. In Monaco he had to retire from the race after the front hubcap jammed and failed to come off during a pitstop, Baku was also unforgiving after he finished twelfth. According to Bottas as he tries to explain the mishaps he admits the problems are a result of a combination of many things.
In Baku, the Finn admits he struggled to find the right set-up “The direction we took was not ideal. So I hope we can get it right again in France.” Bottas is currently sixth in the championship with just 47 points compared to 101 points for Lewis Hamilton and 105 points for Max Verstappen.
Also at the press conference in France, the subject of George Russell quickly comes up. He understands that he can’t stop these kinds of rumours. “It’s always the same speculation, it’s part of the sport,” Bottas said. As such, he is not at all concerned yet with possible other teams he could go to.
According to Bottas, no negotiations have started yet and he has not heard anything about a departure from Mercedes. “I can’t confirm that, nobody has told me that. These speculations are not true.” So the rumour machine can keep running for a while in the near future.
