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[NeuroticFish]

Bottas joining Alfa Romeo is a very good fresh start for him. His role in Mercedes was like the second man where he backed up Hamilton. In this way, his true potential was not uncovered. Now that he is no longer under the shadow of Hamilton, I am hoping that he would do really well next season.

I wouldn't be so sure. Alfa Romeo car just simply cannot compete with the Mercedes.
Even under Lewis, Valtteri had - most of the time - the chance for a top5 classification. That may no longer happen and not because of the driver.

And about Russell taking his spot in Mercedes, whether that was a good decision or not we will see in the future. But till then, we are up for an exciting season up ahead.

Right now, it's a great step for him. Then.. it also depends on how long will Lewis stay in F1 (and at Mercedes). If that will be for (too) long, he may not allow George get where he deserves. And I expect the team rules be strongly enforced around Lewis for the win.

[Maidak]

I wouldn't be so sure. Alfa Romeo car just simply cannot compete with the Mercedes.
Even under Lewis, Valtteri had - most of the time - the chance for a top5 classification. That may no longer happen and not because of the driver.

Well, you have a valid point. Driving skills are sometimes outrun by the car itself. And the quality of the car that Mercedes have, it will be quite hard to compete with an Alfa Romeo one, but not impossible. If Bottas makes nearly zero mistakes, then he would have a good chance of going places but other than that, it's gonna tough for Valterri Bottas.

Right now, it's a great step for him. Then.. it also depends on how long will Lewis stay in F1 (and at Mercedes). If that will be for (too) long, he may not allow George get where he deserves. And I expect the team rules be strongly enforced around Lewis for the win.

Yes, the same thing that happened to Bottas, might happen to Russell, getting shadowed by Lewis Hamilton. This could be one of the main reasons that Bottas left. And as it always was, even this season Mercedes could shape up around Lewis Hamilton making George Russell fall a bit behind. But let's see how that works out for them.

[qwertyup23]

I am more curious who will fill the "missing spot" (left by Russel). Will it be Alex Albon or will it be somebody else? That part may be a bit complicated...

Yup, your prediction was correct! Alex Albon did fill the spot as he signed the deal for Williams! To be honest, I am also happy for Albon for having the opportunity to race in a Williams car. His role in Redbull was similar as of Valterri's role in Mercedes. I do hope that he gets the spotlight he deserves in Williams, do an inferior car compared to Redbull.

Nevertheless, I am excited to see the changes in 2022 in the F1 car as this will put every team on an unfamiliar territory with all the innovations and ideas that they will integrate on the new design.

[coinlocket$]

I am more curious who will fill the "missing spot" (left by Russel). Will it be Alex Albon or will it be somebody else? That part may be a bit complicated...

It will be probably Alexander Albon, an increasing amount of rumors here in Italy where the F1 will be this week.
We maybe have the official announcement by this week.

[delfastTions]

I am more curious who will fill the "missing spot" (left by Russel). Will it be Alex Albon or will it be somebody else? That part may be a bit complicated...

It will be probably Alexander Albon, an increasing amount of rumors here in Italy where the F1 will be this week.
We maybe have the official announcement by this week.

I also believe that it will be him.  The choice here can be justified by the fact that since he was 6 years old he was close to motorsport, and his father was a racer, he trained him in childhood and youth.  This means that Alexander has a rich experience.  In addition, at the age of 25, one can say that a person has the most instantaneous reaction, and then, with age, from year to year it begins to slow down.  So the choice is quite reasonable.

[jakdanyel]

Have you guys seen the latest news about Valterri Bottas? It seems that he will join Alfa Romeo this 2022 and his seat will be replaced by George Russel! This is actually some great news considering that the skills and technique of Bottas is somehow hampered and contained due to the influence of Hamilton. Now that he is in Alfa Romeo, he can actually race on his own without worrying too much about his teammate!

As for George Russel, though many have argued that he doesn't deserve the seat on Mercedes, I am still happy for him as he is now on a superior car. I just really hope that his seat in Mercedes won't be another Rosberg vs Hamilton feud where they both clashed as teammates.

Imho it's not that much a great news than a basically normal development. All I can say is "finally, end of drama".

I am not convinced that the development is that great for George Russel, but time will tell. He clearly deserves a good car and he has shown that he can do wonders in a Mercedes.. when Lewis was not there. Let's see how the things will go when Lewis is present, especially as lately he seems to be needing badly any help he can get against Max. Of course, that may be or may not be the same next year.

I am more curious who will fill the "missing spot" (left by Russel). Will it be Alex Albon or will it be somebody else? That part may be a bit complicated...

It seems like the missing spot at Willams is going to be filled with ex-Red Bull driver Alex Albon.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-alex-albon-returns-to-f1-race-seat-with-williams-in-2022-alongside.46oM1Ffk7ngYX3yIpyciXC.html

It will be nice to see Albon back in races at a team finally. I think that he is not a bad driver. He is just very ambitious and it sometimes causes him to make simple mistakes while trying his luck really hard on overtaking a car. But he is still young and he will learn to drive smarter in time. In the future, we could see him in the seat of a bigger team again I think.

[NeuroticFish]

Yup, your prediction was correct! Alex Albon did fill the spot as he signed the deal for Williams! To be honest, I am also happy for Albon for having the opportunity to race in a Williams car. His role in Redbull was similar as of Valterri's role in Mercedes. I do hope that he gets the spotlight he deserves in Williams, do an inferior car compared to Redbull.

I have mixed feelings (especially as a RBR fan).

I am happy for him, that he will actually race again, even though in a car much weaker than the RBR car he had before; but maybe the Williams different aerodynamics will help him adapt better to the car than he did with at RBR. It looks like the RBR car is somewhere/somewhat different than the others.

On the other hand, he may know some "trade secrets" of RBR that will now be passed Williams and from there to Mercedes. And this is not nice, especially as Lewis was one of those ruining Alex' chances to running more seasons at RBR.

And I don't feel that he had the same role as Valtteri. He may have had that if he would have been more constantly "there". But somehow that didn't happen. I know that in some cases it was bad luck too and he may have been deserving more, but unfortunately for him, Sergio was more constant and more appealing (and he also does until now, on average, better job). Also I feel like RBR is somewhat more lax than Mercedes with the team rules.

[DIA7]

I have mixed feelings (especially as a RBR fan).

I am happy for him, that he will actually race again, even though in a car much weaker than the RBR car he had before; but maybe the Williams different aerodynamics will help him adapt better to the car than he did with at RBR. It looks like the RBR car is somewhere/somewhat different than the others.

On the other hand, he may know some "trade secrets" of RBR that will now be passed Williams and from there to Mercedes. And this is not nice, especially as Lewis was one of those ruining Alex' chances to running more seasons at RBR.

There will be new rules next season that can mixes things up, Williams can be dark horse next season, they have that Mercedes engine, with much more tunnel time and budget to compete. Don't get me wrong Mercedes and RBR will get there but probably not in the first half of the season as drivers needs time to get used for the new car and make their own adjustments .
I think that a  Ferrari will be the benchmark for the between the two teams. This is mainly due to shifting all development to next year and having more wind tunnel time then this year top leaders,
So Williams will have 3rd more time for tunnel time as they are more likely to finish 7th in constructers championship this season which will make their chances better for 2022.

[ILuckyGuyI]

I must admit that it is a really good feeling for me seeing George Russell at Mercedes in the next season. And I'm glad to hear that Alex Albon also has found a team for himself. 2022 season will be really awesome that I can feel it already.    We will have a completely different system, different cars etc.. Many teams will be able to have a chance for the championship. And this is the most important thing for me. Because I don't want to see only one team dominating the whole season and the rest of them are struggling.

[CryptoBuds]

I am more curious who will fill the "missing spot" (left by Russel). Will it be Alex Albon or will it be somebody else? That part may be a bit complicated...

It will be probably Alexander Albon, an increasing amount of rumors here in Italy where the F1 will be this week.
We maybe have the official announcement by this week.

I also believe that it will be him.  The choice here can be justified by the fact that since he was 6 years old he was close to motorsport, and his father was a racer, he trained him in childhood and youth.  This means that Alexander has a rich experience.  In addition, at the age of 25, one can say that a person has the most instantaneous reaction, and then, with age, from year to year it begins to slow down.  So the choice is quite reasonable.

^ I heard some rumors that Alex Albon might be filling the spot that Russell left. I think Russell's perfect successor might be Alex Albon. Though he might not be on the same level as Russell, but considering other options, he looks like the perfect fit for me. Let's see what the management decides and I'm sure they will make the best decision for the franchise.

I must admit that it is a really good feeling for me seeing George Russell at Mercedes in the next season. And I'm glad to hear that Alex Albon also has found a team for himself. 2022 season will be really awesome that I can feel it already.    We will have a completely different system, different cars etc.. Many teams will be able to have a chance for the championship. And this is the most important thing for me. Because I don't want to see only one team dominating the whole season and the rest of them are struggling.

Yes, seeing only one team out-perform every other team is not joyful to watch. The season becomes dull to watch like that. But I have high hopes for this season. There are tons of franchises that will fight till their last breath for that title. And Russell to Mercedes is one of the biggest transfers in my opinion. Although I'm not sure what his role would be considering they have Hamilton, but still, watching Hamilton and Russell will be a pleasure.

[SirLancelot]

Who believes that Russell will not be like Bottas when he is racing at Mercedes? I do not know how they can shape him up and how they could let him be the future of the team after Lewis retires by telling him to move over as much as they told Bottas to do that.

I mean we all know that Bottas wasn't really racing, his job was to be near Hamilton and keep other racers slower, that way he would allow Lewis to have a difference enough to win it. He wasn't capable of doing that every race, and when it was obvious that Lewis would lose because of something, Bottas was given the green light as well.

Rarely ever he just went up there and won straight up. So I just feel like Bottas spent a whole career out of being a helper for Hamilton. Russel is young, if you force him to do that, when the time comes for Hamilton to retire, Russell will be still a young racer, and you would now have a racer that knows how to follow, and not lead. So it will be very weird if they tell him to win as much as possible, since that would mean Hamilton will no longer have a second driver to help him, but another racer he has to race against.

[boltz]

Who believes that Russell will not be like Bottas when he is racing at Mercedes? I do not know how they can shape him up and how they could let him be the future of the team after Lewis retires by telling him to move over as much as they told Bottas to do that.

I mean we all know that Bottas wasn't really racing, his job was to be near Hamilton and keep other racers slower, that way he would allow Lewis to have a difference enough to win it. He wasn't capable of doing that every race, and when it was obvious that Lewis would lose because of something, Bottas was given the green light as well.

Rarely ever he just went up there and won straight up. So I just feel like Bottas spent a whole career out of being a helper for Hamilton. Russel is young, if you force him to do that, when the time comes for Hamilton to retire, Russell will be still a young racer, and you would now have a racer that knows how to follow, and not lead. So it will be very weird if they tell him to win as much as possible, since that would mean Hamilton will no longer have a second driver to help him, but another racer he has to race against.

Well , I do believe he will not be Bottas but he will not challenge Lewis in his first year with Mercedes team. Why ? because no matter how fast he is , he needs to learn a lot of new and important factors that will make him even a greater driver. Also rumors for next years says that Mercedes might not have the front car but then again , we hear this rumors for years now and they still dominate. Overall, Russel will have it's own thing but only after his first year with Mercedes.

[DIA7]

Who believes that Russell will not be like Bottas when he is racing at Mercedes? I do not know how they can shape him up and how they could let him be the future of the team after Lewis retires by telling him to move over as much as they told Bottas to do that.

I mean we all know that Bottas wasn't really racing, his job was to be near Hamilton and keep other racers slower, that way he would allow Lewis to have a difference enough to win it. He wasn't capable of doing that every race, and when it was obvious that Lewis would lose because of something, Bottas was given the green light as well.

Rarely ever he just went up there and won straight up. So I just feel like Bottas spent a whole career out of being a helper for Hamilton. Russel is young, if you force him to do that, when the time comes for Hamilton to retire, Russell will be still a young racer, and you would now have a racer that knows how to follow, and not lead. So it will be very weird if they tell him to win as much as possible, since that would mean Hamilton will no longer have a second driver to help him, but another racer he has to race against.

Well , I do believe he will not be Bottas but he will not challenge Lewis in his first year with Mercedes team. Why ? because no matter how fast he is , he needs to learn a lot of new and important factors that will make him even a greater driver. Also rumors for next years says that Mercedes might not have the front car but then again , we hear this rumors for years now and they still dominate. Overall, Russel will have it's own thing but only after his first year with Mercedes.

I think we will see a scenario similar to Ferrari when Charles Leclerc first Joined Ferrari he didn't make it to Vettel that he is there to competing to be the number1 or he is going to be his wingman.
His results made him speak for himself finishing better than his teammates Vettel at the end of his first season not with much point difference but still he announced himself that season and in the next one Vettel was poorly underperformed due that he was told to be let go at the start of the season.
It's not going to be 100 percent the same because Toto Wolf is not Mattia Benotto and Vettel is not as cool with things as Hamilton so again Russel need to make results that speaks for itself, and maybe Hamilton gets in his mind that this is the end of the road for him and time to let someone else get to the spotlight.

[rdbase]

-snip-

Well , I do believe he will not be Bottas but he will not challenge Lewis in his first year with Mercedes team. Why ? because no matter how fast he is , he needs to learn a lot of new and important factors that will make him even a greater driver. Also rumors for next years says that Mercedes might not have the front car but then again , we hear this rumors for years now and they still dominate. Overall, Russel will have it's own thing but only after his first year with Mercedes.

Well Mercedes even went as far as asking Bottas to let Hamilton pass in this race.
They even knew he can't challenge him nor go up in the table to reach the top contenders in time before the season is over.
So he might as well just be a moving pylon for the rest on the circuit.

BTW, for those who are no familiar on what the sprint races are here is very good explanation and points out why they introduced it this season.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-italian-gp-sprint-race-what-time-is-it-how-to-watch-it-more/6664551/
This will be the second one of these type of faster paced races, the first being at Sliverstone.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/british-gp-sprint-qualifying-report/6632306/

[CryptoBuds]

-snip-

Well , I do believe he will not be Bottas but he will not challenge Lewis in his first year with Mercedes team. Why ? because no matter how fast he is , he needs to learn a lot of new and important factors that will make him even a greater driver. Also rumors for next years says that Mercedes might not have the front car but then again , we hear this rumors for years now and they still dominate. Overall, Russel will have it's own thing but only after his first year with Mercedes.

Well Mercedes even went as far as asking Bottas to let Hamilton pass in this race.
They even knew he can't challenge him nor go up in the table to reach the top contenders in time before the season is over.
So he might as well just be a moving pylon for the rest on the circuit.
BTW, for those who are no familiar on what the sprint races are here is very good explanation and points out why they introduced it this season.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-italian-gp-sprint-race-what-time-is-it-how-to-watch-it-more/6664551/
This will be the second one of these type of faster paced races, the first being at Sliverstone.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/british-gp-sprint-qualifying-report/6632306/

Well, Do you think he will be able to challenge Hamilton Lewis in the following years? I don't think so, man. Lewis is like a unicorn to Mercedes all these years and he always has got the love from them, let alone the more benefits he gets. He was always the first choice over Bottas, he will be the first choice over Russell. I don't see that changing in the coming years as well. If even things are to change, it will take some time.

[beel]

I think we will see a scenario similar to Ferrari when Charles Leclerc first Joined Ferrari he didn't make it to Vettel that he is there to competing to be the number1 or he is going to be his wingman.
His results made him speak for himself finishing better than his teammates Vettel at the end of his first season not with much point difference but still he announced himself that season and in the next one Vettel was poorly underperformed due that he was told to be let go at the start of the season.
It's not going to be 100 percent the same because Toto Wolf is not Mattia Benotto and Vettel is not as cool with things as Hamilton so again Russel need to make results that speaks for itself, and maybe Hamilton gets in his mind that this is the end of the road for him and time to let someone else get to the spotlight.

All of these depend on how Hamilton Performs in the coming days. Because if Hamilton is in his prime and he keeps doing better than Russell, I don't see any chance Russell gets to be the main man. But if Russell can prove himself worthy that he can be better than Hamilton, well we are gonna be up for an insane competition in between the two.

[qwertyup23]

I think we will see a scenario similar to Ferrari when Charles Leclerc first Joined Ferrari he didn't make it to Vettel that he is there to competing to be the number1 or he is going to be his wingman.
His results made him speak for himself finishing better than his teammates Vettel at the end of his first season not with much point difference but still he announced himself that season and in the next one Vettel was poorly underperformed due that he was told to be let go at the start of the season.
It's not going to be 100 percent the same because Toto Wolf is not Mattia Benotto and Vettel is not as cool with things as Hamilton so again Russel need to make results that speaks for itself, and maybe Hamilton gets in his mind that this is the end of the road for him and time to let someone else get to the spotlight.

All of these depend on how Hamilton Performs in the coming days. Because if Hamilton is in his prime and he keeps doing better than Russell, I don't see any chance Russell gets to be the main man. But if Russell can prove himself worthy that he can be better than Hamilton, well we are gonna be up for an insane competition in between the two.

I somehow fear that if Russel gets the momentum, he may be able to outperform Lewis in some races, thus potentially creating a tension between the two. This also kinda reminds me on how Lewis and Nico started as friends but ended up as rivals until Nico's retirement. Though while the idea might be far-fetched, there is still that possibility of that situation happening again.

[DIA7]

Anyone watched the sprint Race, it turned out to be a gain for Verstappen,
Totto wolf Planned aheaf that after the starting lap when it's safe for Bottas to switch positions with Hamilton only for Hamilton to have a bad start and gets overtaked buy his Competitor and both Maclaren cars that held him back using the same Power Unit that Mercedes provides.
So with the results of this sprint race they gave us a hint over what we are going to see on raceday Vertsappen going to be most likely the winner unless they make mistakes with pitting.

[rdbase]

Anyone watched the sprint Race, it turned out to be a gain for Verstappen,
Totto wolf Planned aheaf that after the starting lap when it's safe for Bottas to switch positions with Hamilton only for Hamilton to have a bad start and gets overtaked buy his Competitor and both Maclaren cars that held him back using the same Power Unit that Mercedes provides.
So with the results of this sprint race they gave us a hint over what we are going to see on raceday Vertsappen going to be most likely the winner unless they make mistakes with pitting.

Watched it only because it was a short one hence the naming of it. Only a race of 18 laps so it was done in 25-30 minutes.
Because we had awhile without EPL and it being back had more focus for the matches I had other interests on at the same duration of those 30 minutes.
But Bottas did his darndest to keep Hamilton and Verstappen at bay. Alas the dutchman did get pole even though Bottas won it.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/11/valtteri-bottas-wins-f1-italian-gp-sprint-race-but-loses-pole-to-max-verstappen
No wonder he wants to leave Mercedes because as I had mentioned before, they do want him to be the sacrificial lamb and take one for the team.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/sep/10/valtteri-bottas-finds-form-to-qualify-first-in-italian-grand-prix-sprint-trial
All before his premeditated departure.

[LittleBitFunny]

Anyone watched the sprint Race, it turned out to be a gain for Verstappen,
Totto wolf Planned aheaf that after the starting lap when it's safe for Bottas to switch positions with Hamilton only for Hamilton to have a bad start and gets overtaked buy his Competitor and both Maclaren cars that held him back using the same Power Unit that Mercedes provides.
So with the results of this sprint race they gave us a hint over what we are going to see on raceday Vertsappen going to be most likely the winner unless they make mistakes with pitting.

Yes, I saw the sprint race. Verstappen having the first grid is an advantage for him, and Hamilton having a bad start was crucial in Verstappen winning the race. If Hamilton can work on his mistake, we might be able to watch an eye-pleasing Hamilton vs Verstappen matchup. Don't put everything on Verstappen. Wait till the raceday and watch Hamilton crush him.