Lewis Hamilton says he will “support” whatever decision Mercedes makes regarding his team-mate for 2022, as the teams considers whether to promote junior driver George Russell or retain Valtteri Bottas.
The saga has been one of the major talking points during this year’s Formula 1 season, with Russell’s impressive form in the first half of the year for Williams putting him in a strong position for a Mercedes seat next year.
Bottas, on the other hand, has endured his worst start to a campaign since he joined Mercedes in 2017, but has proved a real team player in helping Hamilton and the team lead both championships.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was clear a decision would be taken during the summer months, but announcement hasn’t been made ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
When pressed over if they had any news to share in Thursday’s driver press conference, both Bottas and Russell remain tight-lipped on the matter.
Hamilton revealed he had sat down with Wolff to discuss who would be partnering him at Mercedes in 2022, but stressed he would have no involvement in the final call.
“I’ve obviously been vocal in the past of my loyalty to Valtteri, and worked incredibly closely with him,” Hamilton said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“I think our working relationship is better than ever.
“Toto’s a great leader, and as I’ve said in the past, we always stay connected. Of course, we talk about these things.
“And naturally, we’re all part of the same team, we want what’s best for the team moving forwards, we want to win more championships, and so we just have conversations.
“At the end of the day, it’s just down to him and the board at Mercedes to make that decision. I’m a part of the team so I’ll support them whichever way they go, naturally.
“But yeah, I’m just at the moment trying to put all of my energy into doing the best I can this season.”
Hamilton goes into this weekend leading the drivers’ standings by eight points from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with his second place finish in Hungary seeing him regain the title lead for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes has seen momentum firmly swing in its favour after it brought upgrades to the British Grand Prix, with Hamilton overturning a 32-point deficit in the last two races.
“We’ve definitely upped our game,” Hamilton said.
“We’ve also, even just during this break, in terms of taking time to reflect on looking at where we’ve been and where we’re going, I have no doubts that we will take another step forward in our processes and how we apply ourselves.
“It’s been a real positive thing to see.”
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