Bottas refutes rumours: "These speculations are not true"

Poor Valtteri Bottas. Not only are his results disappointing again this season, now he also has to continuously answer questions about George Russell coming to Mercedes. To his detriment, which would mean that the Finn would be without a seat in 2022.

Explanation for problems in Baku

Bottas has had two dramatic weekends. A silly retirement in Monaco after a hubcap failed to come off during the pitstop and a disappointing pace in Baku resulting in a twelfth place finish. According to the Finn, an explanation has been found. "For the most part, yes," he replied to Formel1.de. "It was a combination of many things."

The Mercedes driver mainly struggled to find the right set-up in Baku. "The direction we took was not ideal. So I hope we can get it right again in France." Bottas is currently sixth in the championship with just 47 points compared to 101 points for Lewis Hamilton and 105 points for Max Verstappen.

Rumours not true

Also at the press conference in France, the subject of George Russell quickly comes up. He understands that he can't stop these kinds of rumours. "It's always the same speculation, it's part of the sport," Bottas said. As such, he is not at all concerned yet with possible other teams he could go to.

According to Bottas, no negotiations have started yet and he has not heard anything about a departure from Mercedes. "I can't confirm that, nobody has told me that. These speculations are not true." So the rumour machine can keep running for a while in the near future.