Who'll take the second driver's seat at Stake?

[Matthew]

Bottas and Colapinto are the two top contenders to join Hulkenberg as the second driver at Stake. Will it be one of these two or will it be someone else?

[The Black Knight]

The doors are closing for Bottas unfortunately but if I were them I'd move for Colapinto to learn from an experienced Hulkenberg. It's a shame for Bottas that he may not be on the grid next year as he's a fantastic driver. When you compare him to other drivers on the grid like Stroll or Perez that do not deserve a seat in F1. Unlikely that Bottas will get the spare RB seat over Liam Lawson.

Ultimately there needs to be a higher standard in F1. It should be the top 20 drivers in the world, not the top 19 and Stroll. There should never be a case where you've a driver on the grid simply because of Daddy. Performance wise he hasn't been good enough and Aston Martin should be forced to drop Stroll for Bottas who has proven himself. It's ultimately up to the governing body to make sure rules are tightened to catch undeserving drivers like this.

[airshifter]

Hard to say where this one might go. Bottas has experience and is a "known" more or less. Though not the fastest driver on the grid by any means, given a good car he can perform with the guys at the front of the grid and took some race wins with the dominant Merc. And though the car was very strong, he did beat Lewis a few times on merit, and at other times he got treated a bit harshly with team games, so might have done even better in a "straight fight".

Colapinto seems really quick, and will be very motivated. Paired with the experience of Hulk, he might be a good option as well.


One thing for sure, the teams sometimes make strange choices no matter what the options are. And for that reason, all the speculation in the world might not lead us to the choice the team makes.