F1 media went crazy last week over rumours that Mercedes would sack Bottas mid-season. Mercedes have firmly denied that this would be the case, and a former world champion thinks he knows the culprit…
These rumours appeared to begin when a British newspaper, the. ‘Daily Mail’ released an article claiming that Mercedes AMG Petronas were thinking of sacking Bottas midseason. This of course was picked up by nearly every news outlet, and the rumour spread like wildfire.
Speaking on F1 Nation podcast, 1996 world champion, Damon Hill, said he thinks Red Bull almost certainly had some involvement in this rumour gaining as much momentum as it did.
“I think there were people within Mercedes who think that Red Bull are stirring it and placing those questions with journalists. Just Red Bull’s efforts to try and destabilize Mercedes.”
This would make sense given how close Red Bull are to Mercedes this year. The second driver in the two teams will make a big difference in the constructor’s championship, and ruffling Valtteri’s feathers could be a tactic used by the Milton Keynes outfit.
If this was the case, it seemed to have the opposite effect on VB, who fired back saying “there’s only one team on the grid who does that” – a clear dig at Red Bull’s ruthless reputation when it comes to driver switches.
VB’s seat is undoubtedly under pressure, with the likes of George Russell waiting in the wings, but I can’t see him going anywhere mid-season.
A strong performance at next weekends Monaco Grand Prix would slam the door shut on the rumours, so now we wait and see…
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