Russell or Bottas? "That''s where the decision becomes incredibly hard for Toto"

"I think if Bottas can have a day like he had today, I know he finished third, but he was able to pressure Verstappen and he was able to pressure Lewis (Hamilton), he was able to qualify pole, team dynamics is working is going forward," Di Resta said after the Portuguese Grand Prix talking to Sky Sports.

And so the choice for next year is incredibly difficult because Russell has also been knocking on the door for a while now. At Portimao last week he impressed by missing Q3 by just two hundredths in a Williams. "Yes, George is ambitious. Yes, he's probably the future of Mercedes Benz. But that's where the decision becomes incredibly hard for Toto (Wolff)", the analyst also knows.

Russell or Bottas?

Di Resta continues his story by saying that the team's balance could be upset the moment Russell is contracted for 2022. "I'm sure Lewis doesn't want the foundations of that team to change because it's won world championships, it's won constructors championships, for a very good reason. And when you see the performance of Mr Hamilton on a day like today, if you've got anything that's gonna doubt that do you take that away?"

Bottas may be able to count on Hamilton's help, even though for the 36-year-old Briton it may be purely for his own benefit. "I think Lewis if he's wise, will probably give Valtteri a lot of support, and show the team that he is a team player, absolutely a team player." It is possible that Hamilton will manage to keep Russell out of the door in this way. In any case, the seven-time world champion will first have to renew his contract with Mercedes himself as his current commitment only runs until the current season.