26/08/2021
NEWS STORY
Sitting just feet apart, Mercedes 2022 hopefuls, Valtteri Bottas and George Russell insist they are as much in the dark about team's plans as the rest of us.
Showing the sort of mischievous sense of humour that Bernie Ecclestone would appreciate, the FIA opted to partner Mercedes 2022 hopefuls George Russell and Valtteri Bottas together at today's press conference.
While there were no prizes for guessing the main topic of conversation, both drivers deserved prizes - possibly an idea for another sponsored award for F1's bosses - for their poker faces under interrogation.
“There is no news to share yet,” Bottas, when asked about Mercedes plans for next season. ”Maybe I know something, maybe I don’t," he added, with a grin. "But like I said, there’s no news to share.”
Pushed on whether there was genuinely no news to share or Mercedes was seeking to keep things under wraps, the Finn napped: "There is no news to share... I don't need to clarify any reasons for that.
"I think the same for me and George, that we have a job to do here, and there's no news, and we're going to focus on racing and getting maximum points for the team we are racing with."
"No news to share at this stage," added Russell. "We were still obviously in discussions over the summer break, but there's nothing to announce one way or another this weekend, and probably not next weekend either, to be honest.
"It's no problem," he added. "Do things right rather than quickly, let's say."
Originally, team boss Toto Wolff had suggested that a decision would be made by the end of the summer break, but he has now said it will take a little longer.
Asked if the delay could cause problems should he need to seek an alternative seat, Russell said: "We're both fortunate that we're both sort of looked after in ways by Mercedes, and we both trust them to look after our futures, one way or another.
"From my side, speaking for myself, there are no real problems. Whether it's tomorrow, whether it's after Abu Dhabi, I guess you have to trust the people who are looking out for you."
"The situation overall, I'm fine with it completely," insisted Bottas. "Just really head down and focus for the weekend, and I'm pretty sure for the next weeks, they will definitely fly by with the triple header, and we have a pretty good battle on our hands as a team, so that's the main focus.
"Things eventually will sort themselves out, and we'll see."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Spa, here.