Toto Wolff has dismissed speculation that George Russell could be drafted in next season to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes. Russell finished ahead of the Finn while standing in for Lewis Hamilton at last weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix despite seeing his efforts hindered by a pit-stop blunder and an unfortunate slow puncture.
The Norfolk-born driver is widely regarded as a future world championship contender and is expected to join Mercedes at some point in the near future, but team principal Wolff has confirmed that he will not get his chance just yet with Bottas set to stay for at least another season.
“He’s going to be in our car, I’m hereby confirming it. We have a contract with Valtteri,” Wolff told Autosport.
“He’s going to race next year. You need to kick me quite hard in a sensitive zone for me to ever lose my loyalty. And I am loyal to my two race drivers.
“In the same way, I’m loyal to our junior drivers. George did a phenomenal job last weekend. He deserves to be in a great car one day. He has a contract with Williams for another year.
“They have been very flexible and accommodating in having George, giving George to Mercedes this other weekend, and everything is going to go its way. But calmly, and in a structured way.”
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Russell joined Williams for the 2019 season after winning the prestigious F2 championship the previous year.
He outqualified team-mate Robert Kubica in every single Grand Prix event during his debut season, and has produced a similar record against Nicholas Latifi this year.
Speaking after Saturday’s qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Russell lifted the lid on his short stint with Mercedes, highlighting the ‘sad reality’ of Formula One after he returned to Williams following Lewis Hamilton’s recovery from coronavirus.
“It’s obviously a big difference,” he explained. “The lap times show that.
“In some ways I feel more comfortable here at Williams because it’s my car, it’s where I’ve been for two years. But ultimately, we just don’t have the speed.
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“As a driver, you’re doing the same job, but one week you’re fighting in the top three, the next week you’re in the bottom three.
“But that’s, unfortunately, the sad reality in Formula One these days.”
Russell will start Sunday’s race from 18th place after he was eliminated in Q1 during qualifying, with Pietro Fittipaldi of Haas and Latifi propping up the rest of the grid.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen snatched pole position from Bottas on Saturday as Hamilton secured third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in fourth.