30/10/2020
NEWS STORY
Williams acting team prinipal, Simon Roberts has confirmed that current drivers, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi will continue with the team in 2021.
The news comes at a time there has been mounting speculation over Russell's future with the team, the Briton receiving support from a number of his colleagues.
Amidst speculation that the Grove outfit was eyeing Sergio Perez, Russell is understood to have suggested that the rumours were in fact coming from the Mexican's camp.
With the team under new ownership, retaining Russell makes sense and while Latifi has yet to prove himself the fact is that he brings a sizeable chunk of funding to the team.
Speaking to reporters at Imola today, Simon Roberts admitted that the confusion, particularly over Russell's future, was down him when he appeared unwilling to confirm the Briton's seat in Portugal last week, even though he has a contract for next season.
"I probably caused a bit of confusion last week, I'm sorry about that," Roberts told reporters. "We didn't really want to comment on the driver position. But as George said, Claire made the announcement earlier this year and nothing has changed.
"This is our driver line-up for this year and next year. We're very happy with them, and we look forward to working with them in a continued way."
Today's confirmation means that hopefuls, including Perez and Nico Hulkenberg have Haas as their main option, though the American outfit has made no secret of the fact that it is looking for drivers with backing.
While AlphaTauri has yet to name its teammate to Pierre Gasly, unless Alex Albon raises his game over the next couple of races there could be a vacancy alongside Max Verstappen, the Austrian team having made clear that it is willing to look outside its driver pool if necessary.
Check out our Friday gallery from Imola, here.