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I wish all these journalists would just give Bottas a break. He really isn't doing a bad job. It makes sense to me that Mercedes would want Russell in the second car, but only because he has more potential for the future, and could possibly be their number one driver once Hamilton retires. Bottas isn't good enough to be number one at Mercedes, but is certainly good enough to be number two, and I am sure that, if paired with Russell this year, Bottas would come out on top (although not ahead of Verstappen, of course). This year, Bottas has still been a solid number two for Mercedes, with the exception of a shocking drive in Imola. It seems as though the Mercedes and the Red Bull are close to equal cars, so Bottas should be coming third every time, and capitalising with a second place when Red Bull struggle, which hasn't really happened yet. This year, he has finished third in every race that he has finished, and would have been second in Monaco. He also stayed close enough in Spain to stop Verstappen pitting, although he was unhelpful when Hamilton tried to pass him. Bottas has certainly done better than Perez this year, and the points table, which has him behind Lando Norris, does not tell the whole story.
So I think it probably is time for Mercedes to replace Bottas with Russell (at the end of the year, certainly not midseason), but because they need to look to the future, not because Bottas is doing badly. I suspect that Bottas struggles with media pressure, and that he would do better if journalists stopped having a go at him. He would surely thrive in a midfield team, so if this rumour is true and Mercedes drop him, the likes of Alpine and Aston Martin should attempt to sign him. I hope he at least ends up at Williams and isn't forced out of the sport altogether.
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