https://www.planetf1.com/news/george-russell-williams-sergio-perez/
How much does Mercedes pay for Russell to be at Williams? It'll be crazy to see him get dropped instead of Latifi.
I certainly wish Sergio a spot on the grid next year. But given a choice between Russel and Latifi -- Russel gets the nod every time -- even if Latifi brings a fistfull of dollars with him.
It’s clear that if Russel loses his seat it won’t be about performance or potential. It’ll simple be about money. Sad.
This is crazy. Why not have Russell in the second Mercedes seat as a solid rear gunner to Hamilton? No knock on Bottas but he ain't cheap and certainly won't be the future of the team once Hamilton retires
Nikita Mazepin will be in F1 next year according to Motorsport.it. https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/haas-mazepin-vicinissimo-a-firmare-per-il-2021/4894263/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-1
The best driver for Clone point Is Nico - brings points, direct feedback leads to car improvements and is healthy! He also has no contract and is reserve!
Because Russel probably will be too much of a threat to Lewis. I don't think he'll last the season against him, mind you.
No. I'm saying the opposite. He'll be a much bigger fighter than Bottas but over the season Lewis will beat him.
Seems a bit odd, Russell really had a chance at Bottas' seat but because Claire asked nicely he staid put? Something about the best drivers always ending up at the best seats I have a hard time assessing his qualities and I feel he gets the same 'token-nice-guy'-treatment as Hulkenberg. No great achievements whatsoever, but always receives praise for results pay drivers get burned to the ground for. Latifi has a lot less talent and less experience, but has been quite close to him a couple of times this season. That being said I would like to see him in the second Mercedes, just to see if he can back up the expectations.
Why should Mercedes dispense so quickly with Bottas? Bottas is a safe pair of hands at Mercedes: 9 wins, 53 podiums, 14 poles, 15 fastest lap. He is certainly not spent yet; his latest win was in Russia, a few weeks ago. Speculating on Russell is fine, but there is absolutely no proof that he would achieve more than Bottas.
No comment on Bottas, but Russell has yet to lose a qualifying session to a teammate in two years. We can argue about the quality of the teammates (Kubica and Latiffi), but to never have made a mistake alone in that span is saying something... I would like to see Russell get a real car under him and see what happens. Frankly the Renault seat would have made sense to me, or the Haas seat as well. I think he's high caliber but want another measuring stick beyond what we've seen already. Remember that he's flogged a dog of a Williams car into P2 a number of times.
Russell would be cheaper than Bottas and is still young enough to learn and improve. He is part of the future generation. Bottas is simply a ‘good enough’ driver who will never be top tier material. And... guess where Mercedes got Bottas from? That’s right. Williams. He lucked into the Mercedes seat because Rosberg unexpectedly retired after clinching the wdc. Had that not happened there is zero chance that Bottas would ever have got a merc seat.
He was part of the Mercedes program. Mercedes took a risk and it has paid nicely with Bottas. Risk with Russell who is unknown and to be honest does not appear any more capable than other drivers. Norris is the most impressive to me of Russell contemporaries.
Russell may deserve a better seat than the one he has at Williams, but not at the expense of Bottas, IMO.
While reading this thread with interest, I came to the conclusion that if Lewis were to leave, one of the better driver match ups might just be Bottas and Russel.
Hamilton leaving could also mean Toto Wolff . There is no certainty that Mercedes would still be to top team then.