SM
Brighton vs. Southampton: 5 hrs 13 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Bottas will be 'in our car' in 2021 - Wolff

:Headline: Bottas will be 'in our car' in 2021 - Wolff: ID:426314: from db_amp
Toto Wolff has put a sudden halt to speculation Valtteri Bottas may be ousted from Mercedes.

Toto Wolff has put a sudden halt to speculation Valtteri Bottas may be ousted from Mercedes.

Ever since Lewis Hamilton's Sakhir GP substitute George Russell beat Bottas in Bahrain, rumours the Finn will be replaced for 2021 have been gaining steam.

But although his earlier comments fuelled the speculation, team boss Wolff is now categorical - Bottas is definitely staying.

"Valtteri is going to be in our car. I am hereby confirming," the Austrian said on Saturday, after Bottas outqualified the returning Hamilton.

"We have a contract with Valtteri and he is going to race next year. You need to kick me quite hard in a sensitive zone for me to ever lose my loyalty."

At the same time, Wolff insists he is also loyal to Russell, who admitted to being disappointed about returning to his much slower Williams this weekend.

"George did a phenomenal job last weekend and he deserves to be in a great car one day," Wolff said.

"He has a contract with Williams for one more year and they have been very flexible and accommodating in giving George to Mercedes this other weekend.

"Everything is going to go its way, but calmly and in a structured way," he insisted.

Wolff says he understands how Bottas must have been feeling amid the on and off-track goings on surrounding Russell's sensational Mercedes debut.

"Last weekend, everyone was talking about George, who had nothing to lose. Valtteri had nothing to gain. We then had a good and smart conversation," Wolff said.

"Obviously it's not just now that we have suddenly started talking, but I can identify with his situation and we have decided to discuss more in the future."

Indeed, Wolff suddenly and unusually radioed Bottas in qualifying to tell the Finn to "give it all you have".

Bottas explained that it had been a "personal thing" - and Wolff confirmed that the 31-year-old had asked for some more public encouragement.

"It's difficult, because I don't usually want to do that," Wolff said. "But the situation was different for him. Valtteri told me that he needs more feedback from me."

amp_article__426314 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-12-13 12:03:51:
html db last update - 2020-12-13 12:03:51 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Toto Wolff

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .