He’s made millions out of his contracts, especially with Mercedes, so never needs to work again, so spare me the sob story.
Money’s not everything is it. Of course the drivers are very well paid but none of them had the ambition to race in F1 for the money.
Based on the body language I am guessing it will be George in the Merc seat next year. The only justification for that not being the case would be car development but in that regard they might as well develop the car for their future driver(s). George out performed Bottas during Lewis's Covid illness, for me, it is a no brainer. The delay in announcement can only be the 'where does Bottas go'. If I was Merc I would push to make the change now, mid season, have a motivated driver in the seat for the rest of the season. That would mean contractual negotiations now, that could be the cause of the delay in announcement. Also, unrushed modifications to the car for George over the next 3 to 4 weeks. It would add yet another dimension to the second half of the season. Makes perfect sense to me.
I think Merc need to get George in the car for next year. Lewis will probably only have a couple of years left before he quits so George could be a good replacement after a couple of years more experience. If they keep Bottas on for another year then any young driver coming into the team might only have a year before he might be leading the team!!! I'm not sure how Merc motivate Bottas to help them this season if he isn't driving for them next year. I'm guessing that's why there is a delay in the announcement as Toto is trying to find Bottas a reasonable F1 drive or an alternative. Not sure swapping drivers mid season would be seen as good publicity wise. Merc do seem to have good team personnel and, on the outside anyway, treat the employees reasonably - gleaned by how infrequently they change staff. That said getting George in the car early could help development i.e. George will have a different style to Lewis and Bottas so maybe being able to tweak things a little for him would be good for 2022?
Predictions: Albon/Hulkenburg/Vandoorne/De Vries to Williams (perhaps 2/4?) Russell to Mercedes Bottas to Alfa Romeo Kimi to retire
David croft on sky said he thinks they will hold off announcements until monza . Then . Kimi announces his retirement. Bottas confirmed at Alfa George to Merc . I suppose the above has answered my questions about why Bottas did not go back . I like to think he turned it down.
I would love to know if Bottas was offered the drive , also does this mean the end for Latifi do you happen to know ?
Williams CEO Jost Capito says it “looks like” Nicholas Latifi will remain at the team for the 2022 Formula 1 season. Latifi joined Williams last year and has a contract that is understood to cover next season, although earlier in the year there were suggestions that he could part company with the team. Williams is still waiting on Mercedes announcing its decision of driver for next season, with George Russell looking increasingly likely to take the second seat alongside Lewis Hamilton. It is set to announce its full 2022 line-up in one hit, but it appears Latifi’s place is now assured. please log in to view this image Can Williams justify keeping Latifi on merit? Read more Capito talked up Latifi’s contribution to the team during a press conference between FP1 and FP2 of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend while discussing his drive to sixth place in the last race in Hungary. When asked if this pointed towards a 2022 contract for Latifi, Capito said “yeah, looks like [it] I would say”. Latifi declared himself “100%” ready to lead Williams should Russell move to Williams next season yesterday. “I agree with him – maybe not yet, but he is improving race by race and I’m sure by the end of the season, he is ready to do that,” said Capito when asked if he agreed with Latifi’s claim.
Joe Saward believes Qatar, which has come on the calendar for later this year, is going to have a 10-year contract to hold a race. So hopefully it's a decent circuit for F1. Apparently, Latifi had an uncertain Covid test last week, and there was a 36 hour period where Williams thought they might need a stand-in. Albon was the driver they contacted...
I would love to see Albon back in a seat. He was doing great before he was promoted too early. As for Latifi, he is measured against George which is perhaps a benchmark few would succeed against, although yet to be proven..