George Russell confirms Mercedes have made decision as Lewis Hamilton talks up promotion

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While no announcement has yet been made, George Russell is aware of what car he will be driving in 2022. The biggest and longest-running saga of F1 silly season has been whether or not Mercedes will choose the 23-year-old to replace Valtteri Bottas after the Finn’s five years with the Silver Arrows.

The assumption is that’s exactly what Mercedes will do, with Russell tipped to be a future world champion and the Brackley-based team keen to try something new with Red Bull breathing down their necks in the standings.

While a fairly consistent performer and a useful ally for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Bottas has struggled to win enough races and that is what Mercedes need – someone to dominate a Grand Prix when Hamilton does not.

Russell has long been tipped as Toto Wolff’s choice, as the Williams man is a Mercedes development driver and has impressed not only in his current car but also when he was given a chance to drive a Silver Arrow in Hamilton’s absence in Bahrain last year.

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The 23-year-old confirmed at his press conference ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix that he has been informed of Wolff’s final decision.

“The truth is there’s nothing to announce but I’m aware of the situation of where I’ll be racing next year,” he said.

Things are understood to have finally got moving in recent days, as Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement announcement opened the door for Bottas to join Alfa Romeo and secure an F1 seat for 2022.

Hamilton has on many occasions expressed a desire for his fruitful partnership with the Finn to continue, but hinted at Russell’s impending promotion by changing his tune at the press conference.

The 36-year-old was glowing in his praise of his fellow Brit, and said he would be excited at the prospect of racing alongside the starlet.

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“I honestly think [Russell joining Mercedes] would be good,” said Hamilton.

“George is an incredibly talented driver, clearly. I’d say probably the only highlight from last week was his qualifying lap, it was amazing.

“He’s humble, he’s got a great approach, naturally being British I would imagine probably helps in terms of communication.

“At the moment, naturally, I have to be super supportive of the team-mate I have right now, so that’s why I’m always supportive of Valtteri because we have a job to do right now. Neither can win the team championship alone, we have to do it collectively.

“[Russell is] one of the members of the future of the sport. I think he’s already shown incredible driving so far and I’m sure he’s going to continue to grow. Where better to do it than a great team like this or whatever team he goes to.”

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