George Russell shuts down Valtteri Bottas Mercedes rumours and regrets Toto Wolff comment
George Russell insists there are no plans for him to replace Valtteri Bottas and race alongside Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes in the 2021 Formula One season, despite previous comments he made in which he said he hoped to have given team chief Toto Wolff a “headache” over the team’s driver line-up next year.
Russell deputised for reigning world champion Hamilton last weekend at the Sakhir Grand Prix while he recovers from coronavirus and finished ninth.
A Mercedes junior programme member who drives full time for Williams, Russell qualified second in Bahrain and in the race overtook Bottas into the first corner after a brilliant start.
The 22-year-old was leading until lap 63 but a Mercedes pit-stop error and then a puncture proved his undoing and denied him a first ever F1 race win, with Sergio Perez instead victorious in the Racing Point.
Briton Russell was notably devastated despite picking up the first points of his career but he is widely expected to at least contend for drivers’ championships later in his career, if not win them.
He said after an eye-catching performance in Sakhir: “I guess from Toto’s perspective, hopefully I’ve given him a headache, not just for 2022 but maybe sooner.”
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There have since been a raft of rumours that Russell could displace Bottas in the Mercedes for next season, with the Finn having been dominated by team-mate Hamilton – who is expected to sign a new contract with the Brackley-based outfit with his current deal soon to expire – during their time together in the Silver Arrows garage.
But Russell has declared that he is totally committed to Williams, to whom he could even return this weekend if Hamilton is declared fit after his bout of COVID-19.
“That was just a throwaway remark in the heat of the moment,” Russell said in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Emotions were high and what have you. Ultimately I have a contract and I’m a Williams driver for 2021.
“My management is Mercedes, I signed a deal with them back in 2016 and they are my managers. They invested in me and put their faith in me. That means a huge amount.
“I am committed to Mercedes so I’m happy and confident with my position under their guidance.”
Russell added of the praise he has received: “I think it’s obviously really nice to have been recognised for the job we achieved last week.
“But I’ll be approaching this weekend the same, it’s only my second Grand Prix in the Mercedes. I’ve still got a hell of a lot to learn and it’s going to be difficult.
“Last week absolutely exceeded expectations. Valtteri was pushing me the whole way from Friday onwards, put it on pole and was pushing me throughout the race as well. It was tricky.
“We’re back to a more ordinary circuit this weekend but it’d be great to get another opportunity.”
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Russell admitted a week ago he was having to wear boots a size too small to squeeze into Hamilton’s W11 and says some small changes have been made in case he has to do so again this weekend, but insists he’ll still be having to put up with a bit of discomfort if he races for Mercedes.
“Last Friday was all about learning, taking in all the information, learning the procedures and what have you,” he continued.”
“This weekend, Friday will be about improving the car, tuning the set-up to my driving.
“I think my engineers have already understood my way of working, my way of driving.
“So we can try to tailor the car more to my needs as last weekend I was ultimately running with Lewis’s set-up, which is obviously a very good baseline.
“But I’m not Lewis, and I need slightly different needs to extract more from myself and the team.
“We’ve made some minor modifications but there’s only a limited amount of things you can do in the short period of time we’ve had. Ultimately a lot more work needs to go in to get me comfortable in the car.
“We’ve got some slightly different things on the steering wheel that makes things easier for me. That is positive. Having had a race weekend in the car, everything should feel more natural.”
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