Just three races into the season, the Formula One silly season has returned, with Valtteri Bottas reportedly facing the axe before the end of the year.

Since the start of the 2017 season, the Finn has been a member of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, replacing outgoing world champion Nico Rosberg, who retired after winning the title in 2016.

According to the Daily Mail, Bottas’ ability to contribute to the team’s success this season has been questioned, and there is a strong possibility that he may be replaced by current Williams driver George Russell before the end of the current season.

In each of their seasons together, Bottas has failed to match Hamilton’s pace and consistency. Despite having the most dominant car on the grid, the Finnish driver finished third, fifth, second, and second in the championship.

Bottas is still struggling to meet Hamilton’s top standards after three races in 2021. The 31-year-old has never finished higher than third, despite Red Bull Racing’s strong challenge to Mercedes. Bottas is presently fourth in the Drivers’ standings, loosing position to Lando Norris, who is driving a less competitive McLaren.

Following a dismal race in Portugal, when Bottas started on pole but finished third, a Mercedes engineer spoke about the Finn’s “unrest within the factory.” Russell may be drafted sooner rather than later, according to reports.

“There is some unrest at the factory about Valtteri,” the engineer speaking anonymously said. “He is not up to it, which was made clearer by the job we saw Russell do in Bahrain.”

Russell, a junior Mercedes driver, has a great reputation within the team, and he further enhanced it when he filled in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 when the Briton was diagnosed with Covid-19.

If not for a failed pit-stop and a late tyre puncture, the current Williams driver would have finished on the top step of the podium. Russell is expected to succeed Bottas in 2022, but if the Finn continues to dither, Mercedes might follow Red Bull’s lead and make the move midway through the season.

Bottas, however, does have the full backing of team principal Toto Wolff, with whom the buck stops when it comes to making the call on the team’s driver lineup.

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