Williams driver George Russell reckons he’s in a positive position heading into 2022, despite being a free agent come the end of the year in Formula One.
The Mercedes junior driver is finishing a three-year stint at Williams, with his contract expiring at the end of the 2021 season, yet has been heavily linked to a seat at Mercedes in the future.
But for that to happen, either Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton would have to be axed by the seven-time world champions to free up a seat.
Bottas insisted on Wednesday during his press conference ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix that he’s hardly thought about contract negotiations with Mercedes, but admitted that it’s preferable to put pen to paper on a new contract sooner rather than later.
“Honestly it’s always better earlier, I’ve had contracts earlier, I’ve had contracts too late, it almost becomes a distraction,” explained the 31-year-old.
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Another young driver on the grid, Lando Norris, was this week rewarded for his impressive growth with a new multi-year contract to extend his stay at McLaren to at least 2023, something Russell was pleased about.
He said: “[I’m] really happy for Lando, he deserves it. He’s been doing a fantastic job recently and McLaren as a package with Lando are doing extraordinary.
“It’ll be interesting next year, I think they could be a real threat to the top teams and for the championship.”
