Mercedes to determine Bottas’ future in August

HOCKENHEIM, August — Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will use System One’s August break to determine whether or not to Valtteri Bottas will proceed on as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate in 2020.

Bottas’ Mercedes contract runs till the tip of the present 12 months. The Finn began the season strongly with victory on the Australian Grand Prix however has solely been on the highest step on one event since, in Baku, as Hamilton has taken a stranglehold on the championship battle.

Complicating issues for Wolff is that highly-rated Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon is ready within the wings, whereas hypothesis continues to mount about Max Verstappen’s future. Mercedes used the build-up to its dwelling race final 12 months to verify new offers for each its drivers, however Wolff is in no rush to do related forward of this weekend’s German Grand Prix.

“We would like him to finish the season earlier than the shutdown in a superb place and put in two stable performances in Hockenheim and Budapest, after which spend a while excited about the motive force line-up for 2020 and past,” Wolff mentioned.

“It’s fairly uncommon to announce drivers in July. If you wish to take on a regular basis, you correctly must assess and you may even drag it into the winter like we now have seen in another groups and it was an ordinary prior to now.

“For us it’s not solely about making the fitting determination for subsequent 12 months however trying forward and this is the reason we agreed that we are going to take the choice in August going ahead, nevertheless it would not essentially imply we are going to announce it in August.”

Valtteri Bottas’ future is unsure past the tip of 2019. Dan Mullan/Getty Photos

The presence of Ocon has created a headache for Wolff. Ocon was the most important loser in final 12 months’s dramatic and unpredictable driver market, with a Renault deal seemingly falling aside on the eleventh hour because the workforce secured the signature of Daniel Ricciardo. He was additionally linked with McLaren, however the workforce was unwilling to select up somebody carefully affiliated to Mercedes, whereas hopes of a transfer to both Racing Level or Williams got here to nothing.

Ocon has remained with Mercedes this 12 months because the workforce’s reserve driver however has not raced elsewhere. Wolff is absolutely conscious of the ramifications on failing to safe Ocon a seat for the 2020 season.

“As everyone knows it was an unlucky state of affairs final 12 months that Esteban fell between the chairs. He might have chosen between two seats and ultimately nothing got here out.

“From our perspective everybody is aware of about his driving capabilities for Mercedes. Valtteri is displaying some very robust performances and deserves the seat however equally Esteban has proven that previously and is a good addition to the workforce.

“He contributes rather a lot rather a lot behind closed doorways, he drives the sim in a single day on race weekends, he is available in right here Saturday and offers us enter and he is a good child general.

“Placing a Mercedes younger driver within the automobile could be fascinating as effectively. Having mentioned that, there’s curiosity for Esteban amongst different groups and we have to rigorously decide for ourselves and with the opposite events, not just for our personal profit but additionally for Esteban’s profit.

“If it could be that we have been taking a call in favour of Valtteri it clearly additionally implies that any person else would proceed to develop him [Ocon] and would imply we might lose our hand for a 12 months or two or extra on Esteban. These are the results of that call.”

McLaren is the one workforce to have made any type of driver announcement this 12 months, confirming Lando Norris will stay alongside Carlos Sainz in 2020.