Ever since the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing seems to be at the receiving end of trolling, as Mercedes are constantly taking digs at their rivals.
While it was Valtteri Bottas who started this, Mercedes’ boss, Toto Wolff, too, joined forces to take a jab at the Milton Keynes outfit.
There have been rumors going around that Mercedes might replace Bottas with the British racing driver, George Russell, midway through the ongoing season.
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However, when asked about the thoughts on the speculation, Bottas clarified that only one team does such actions, vaguely pointing at Red Bull.
Eventually, Wolff, too, received a similar question. And who knew that the Austrian would give the exact answer as Bottas did?
Similar to the Finn, Wolff ended up denying such a driver swap from happening anytime soon. What’s more, the 49-year-old reckoned that Mercedes aren’t a team that plays musical chairs with their drivers, taking a hilarious dig at their rivals.
Wolff’s comments on Red Bull
Speaking to the media following Friday’s practice sessions, Wolff buried the speculations by clarifying that Bottas won’t be going anywhere until the end of the 2021 season.
“Yeah, absolutely, unless he gets flu and can’t drive he’s going to be in that car,” the Austrian said. “I see no reason to change as these guys over there [gesturing to Red Bull] like to play. How do you say with the chairs? Musical chairs. So nope, no change expected.
“If you’re not happy with your wife and you start to look for other ones it’s not going to improve the relationship. I try to work on the relationship with my driver and achieve the best result for him before I’m starting to flirt with somebody else.”
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With a much better car in hand, George Russell has been performing well over this season. And the same goes for Lewis Hamilton as well, who was on the verge of losing out on a contract with Mercedes prior to this season.
But now, the tables seem to have turned, with the Stuttgart outfit wanting their star driver to stay for another year before taking a call on retirement.
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Hence, it looks like only one seat could turn up vacant for Russell to take over. So, can the Williams driver manage to meet Mercedes’ demands and secure a seat alongside the seven-time world champion for the next season?
Read More: Bottas Takes Veiled Dig at Red Bull While Rejecting Russell Swap Rumours