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What does Hamilton's extension mean for Bottas, Russell and Verstappen?
Lewis Hamilton has signed up until the end of this year and that automatically means that Toto Wolff has two spots available at Mercedes for 2022. There are three, and perhaps four candidates for that: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, George Russell and Max Verstappen. What will the 2022 season look like?
Verstappen and exit clause
Hamilton and Bottas' contracts both expire after 2021 and Russell's commitment to the Williams team also ends. Max Verstappen will be with Red Bull Racing for even longer (until 2023), but it is an open secret that an escape clause is present in the contract of the Dutchman.
It could potentially be activated if engine performance lags. The negotiations about the engine freeze may therefore be very important for Helmut Marko and Christian Horner to be able to keep Max Verstappen. Toto Wolff has several options and has not pinned himself down to anything yet, a smart move by the Austrian CEO.
How further from 2022?
In 2022, the new regulations will also make their appearance in Formula 1 and that may also have meant that only a one-year deal has now been signed by Hamilton and Mercedes. It is completely unclear what the proportions will look like after this year. Hamilton does not know how the Brackley formation is still so dominant and Mercedes don't know what the financial picture will look like with the budget ceilings and the like.
One thing seems certain: Russell will be in the Mercedes in 2022 if he continues like this. Otherwise, the British junior will move to a different racing team and Wolff will not let that happen. There is still one spot available.
For Valtteri Bottas, it is hoped that Lewis Hamilton will stop after next year (if he actually manages to grab his eighth World Championship title). If Hamilton himself indicates that he wants to continue, Mercedes will most likely not say no to that. If Hamilton indicates to stop, this opens the opportunities for Valtteri Bottas.
Announcement of 2022 line-up
The only serious competitor that the Finnish driver has to or count with is Verstappen. However, the question is whether Mercedes makes sense to work with Verstappen while he is actually still under contract with the major competitor. Moreover, everything will depend on how the coming season goes in terms of results and development of the new car. What is certain is that Mercedes will also announce its line-up very late in 2021 (if it is not early 2022).
This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.