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Russell and Bottas face off in press conference in Belgium
On Thursday afternoon George Russell and Valtteri Bottas will sit next to each other in what promises to be an interesting press conference. Both men are vying for the last seat alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes and will be put through their paces by the attending news crews.
The Mercedes team, through Toto Wolff, has already announced that it will announce its new driver line-up for 2022. It is unclear if the decision has already been made internally or not. Possibly Bottas and Russell already know where they stand for next season, but are not yet allowed to reveal this.
Either way, it seems highly unlikely that we will find out more about the German team's plans on Thursday. The Finn and Brit are expected to keep their mouths shut and only say that they are 'confident' and that the 'decision hasn't been made yet'.
Bottas and Russell have a maximum of four more Grands Prix to convince Mercedes. After that the deadline communicated to the outside world by Mercedes is over. Before the end of September, they will race at the circuits of Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort, Monza and Sochi.
Spectacle on the way in press conference Belgian GP
A touch of #F1 mischief: George Russell and Valtteri Bottas have been placed together in the pairings for Thursday's pre-Belgian GP press conference at Spa
— The Race (@wearetherace) August 25, 2021
@XPBImages pic.twitter.com/QGSQiWuI4o
