STUART CODLING
“Mercedes drivers’ futures are resolved”
Formula 1 hit the ground running after the summer break with a flurry of announcements that have largely set the grid for next year. Only a couple of seats remain notionally vacant now that Mercedes has resolved the immediate futures of all four superlicenced drivers on its roster.
Lewis Hamilton was already signed up to the end of 2020 so it was the seat alongside him that had been the focus of all the intrigue. Would Valtteri Bottas remain or would he be booted out in favour of reserve driver Esteban Ocon – or even Formula 2 champion George Russell, who has had such an impressive year at Williams?
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had already dismissed the notion of promoting
Russell so soon. And when the French magazine Auto Hebdo ran with a cover of Ocon digitally composited into
Renault F1 overalls, the cat had at least poked its front paws out of the bag.
Ocon had been in the frame at Renault last season until it made its surprise swoop for Daniel Ricciardo, ultimately condemning him to a year on the sidelines as Merc’s simulator jockey. Bottas was thought to be under threat but despite ending the first half of the season on a couple of weak performances in Germany and Hungary, he was given the nod for another season with Mercedes. The announcements were choreographed on the Thursday of the Belgian GP weekend: first Bottas-going-nowhere, then Ocon-to-renault.
For Wolff the move makes sense because it ensures continuity in an environment that’s enabled Hamilton to deliver two world championships since his nemesis Nico Rosberg left. Hamilton might decide to retire at the end of next season, he might not. Whatever the case, Wolff has plenty of options.
For Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul it’s also an opportunity. He spoke of the need to “restart, reset” the dynamic within the team, as well as the importance of longterm planning. Nico Hulkenberg, who is being dropped, is 10 years older than Ocon, and it’s believed that Renault has a “hands-off” clause that prevents Mercedes recalling him before 2022. Perhaps most germane – and certainly that’s what Hulkenberg thought – Ocon has the right nationality, being French.
Abiteboul and Wolff were due to elucidate in a joint press conference on the Saturday at Spa-francorchamps, but that was cancelled in the wake of the tragic death of F2 driver (and Renault protege) Anthoine Hubert that afternoon. Hubert’s passing is a stark reminder that while motor racing’s eminences grise pass the careers of young drivers around like a tray of cakes, some of those drivers never get to fulfil their talent.