Both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas’ contracts have been extended only until the end of the current season. 

The talk around Mercedes seats has been around for quite some time and it certainly isn’t the first time either the Red Bull star and the Williams driver have been linked to it. McLaren boss Zak Brown believes that George Russell and Max Verstappen could be the driver line-up for the seven-time defending World Champions in 2022. 

“That’s just my opinion. I have no insights to whether that’s actually going to happen, but given George’s relationship with Mercedes and he's out of contract is my understanding at the end of the year, you have Lewis on a one year contract and you have Max which I believe is a free agent at the end of the year,” explained Brown during a session with selected media, including Motorlat.

George Russell has been in the Mercedes program since 2017 and he replaced Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 Sakhir GP, after the world champion tested positive for covid.

It wasn’t exactly his lucky day, as he was denied the victory twice in the same race, first by a botched pitstop and then by a puncture when he was only ten laps away from the chequered flag. He might have finished ninth, but after an outstanding performance.

Max Verstappen, a 23-year-old in his seventh season in F1, needs no introduction. Apparently, his Red Bull contract includes an exit clause that would allow him to leave the team at the end of this season.

According to Brown, the two would make the perfect teammate pairing to drive the silver arrows.

“[It] seems to me that would be the logical choice for Mercedes, whether that actually ends up happening or not, and I'm not trying to stir it, that's kind of what it looks like would happen to me.”

"I think that would be a common sense move by Toto to make, but I have no insight if that will be what happens."

We can only wait and see if they share the same view at the Mercedes headquarters.