Toto Wolff: "He has to stay patient and confident"

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14:38, 28 Jan 2021

It is still not clear who will be Mercedes' second driver next year. Will Lewis Hamilton renew or will young George Russell get a chance? The decision seems to be coming soon.

In an interview with Germany's RTL, Wolff seemed to make it clear that Russell's Sakhir performance never came up in discussions. “We never played the card of Russell and his sensational performance in Bahrain in the negotiations [with Lewis]. We have a strong relationship and have celebrated too many successes for that. It was just a matter of making the best decision for Lewis and the team."

Still, Wolff didn't want to dismiss Russell and says the team continues to have faith in him. "Russell will definitely play a role in our future lineup. He just has to trust us and be patient." It seems likely that the young Brit will replace Valtteri Bottas after the 2021 season.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

Toto Wolff: "He has to stay patient and confident"

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