© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Adrian Mann
Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes at the end of 2024. This news admittedy took Mercedes by surprise, and since most high-profile driver are already under longer-term contracts, the big question is who will Mercedes turn to, to partner up with George Russell in 2025?
The names being thrown around are Carlos Sainz (a natural choice, since he will be out of his Ferrari seat in 2025), Fernando Alonso (his contract will expire at the end of 2024), Esteban Ocon (a Mercedes junior driver and same as Alonso contract-wise), Kimi Antonelli (a promising Mercedes junior), Mick Schumacher (Mercedes’ junior driver without an F1 seat), and even Sebastian Vettel (rumours of his return to F1 have been going around for some time). However, nobody is talking about Mercedes’ former driver – and in fact Lewis Hamilton’s ‘favourite’ team-mate – Valtteri Bottas.
Having driven for Mercedes since 2017, the team decided not to renew Bottas’ cotract for 2022, as they were looking to test out their promising junior George Russell. However, letting go of the Finn certainly wasn’t an easy decision. While Bottas was not able to beat Hamilton over the course of a season, when at his best he was on occasion able to outperform the seven-time champion in qualifying and in the race. Not a small feat by any means.
As a veteran driver – he started his F1 career in 2013 with Williams – Valtteri has the experience that perhaps George Russell still lacks. He also has an inside knowledge of how Mercedes operates, as well as personal relationships within the team. While Mercedes is betting on the future (and perhaps even the present) with George, a more experienced team-mate could be just what the team needs as they attempt to get back to their winning ways. And, who knows, without the pressure of driving alongside the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1, maybe Valtteri can reveal his full potential and even be a title threat?
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To top it all off, Bottas will be available in 2025, as his current contract with Sauber will expire at the end of 2024. Now, it’s not a certainty that he would even be interested in returning, but the split with Mercedes did appear to be amicable, with no lingering bad feelings on either side. And perhaps this could be an opportunity for Bottas to have another go with a team that definitely has more upside than his current outfit.
Now, when Toto Wolff was talking about Hamilton’s exit, he did say that this situation could provide Mercedes with an opportunity to be ‘bold’ with their driver choices, so does Bottas qualify as one? Well, the Finn is right now certainly an unexpected choice (since not a lot of pundits are mentioning his name), and he could even prove to be an inspired one for a team that is in its rebuilding phase.
So, Toto, why don’t you give your old pal a call, huh? You know it makes sense.
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