Valtteri Bottas was one of the main protagonists of the last Hungarian Grand Prix, but not in the right way. It turns out that the Finnish driver started the race in second position, only behind his teammate. When the lights went out, Bottas did not have a good start, even the two Red Bulls and Lando Norris' McLaren overtook him, however, as the track was wet and the cars had started on intermediate tyres, Valtteri braked later than he should have, hitting the back of the McLaren. There was nothing Lando could do to prevent the contact, causing the British driver to hit Max Verstappen's Red Bull. For his part, Bottas hit Perez's Red Bull. Basically, the only driver of the leaders who managed to leave without damage was Lewis Hamilton. The FIA ​​awarded him a five-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix, however, that does not mean that he has left Lando Norris and Sergio Perez out of the competition, as well as taking away any hope of victory from Verstappen.

We are sure that the four and a half years that he has been with Mercedes, it has not been the best stage for him in his sports career. The Finnish driver just doesn't look happy, plus the German team has focused on the world championships for his teammate, which may be counterproductive for him. Anyway, currently, his future is on the air. There have started to be many rumours of a possible departure of Valtteri from Mercedes, with George Russell being his replacement. Mercedes claims that nothing has been fully decided so far, but as discussed in the paddock, the decision should be made in September.

Why is Russell a viable option for Mercedes? We have seen the British driver put his Williams into Q3, yes, a Williams. We even saw him for the first time in the points a few weeks ago in Hungary. Let's also remember that when Hamilton was infected by Covid-19 at the Sakhir Grand Prix, Russell was his replacement in the Mercedes, where he almost took the victory -after having overtaken Bottas- but a problem with the tyres caused him to fall some few positions. We know that Russell is fast, and with Red Bull's threat to Mercedes, the German team is thinking of having two drivers who get the most out of their car and thus score as many points as possible. And thanks to these sessions that he has been able to participate in for Mercedes, it seems that Russell can perform.

“I don't know any driver as well as I know myself and my driving skills, so it's always difficult to comment. I'm sure I can say that I'm a good asset to the [Mercedes] team and it would definitely be different if I wasn't here. I am confident in my driving skills, but I don't make the decisions. " Valtteri Bottas assured before the Hungarian Grand Prix in an interview for ESPN.

Regarding the rumours of his transfer to other teams and talks he has had with Williams (to be the replacement for Russell) or with Alfa Romeo (to replace Kimi Raikkonen), this was what he commented: “I prefer to keep it to myself [if he's been talking to other teams], maybe I haven't, maybe I have. You must have an idea of ​​what is available and what the possibilities are. "

“I have a feeling they haven't told me exactly how far the discussions have been in other teams, probably because I'm focusing on racing, but there will be plenty of time to discuss that during the summer break. If I need to talk to other teams, I will. "

When asked if Valtteri can imagine himself elsewhere next year, this is what he replied: “Of course I can, but it would be different. It's already my fifth year with the team and with Lewis, I know we can work together. It would be something completely different. " Recall that since the Finn joined Mercedes, the German team has only provided him with one-year contracts.